INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bolivia

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when a Minister from his Department last visited Bolivia.

Gareth Thomas: The former Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Clare Short) visited Bolivia in August 1999.

Colombia: Refugees

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution the UK Government has made to the UN High Commission for Refugees in response to its appeal for funds in connection with Colombia; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Global Appeal 2007 is currently under review by donors. In 2006, the UK Government provided £27,536,000 to the UNHCR global appeal. DFIDs contribution was £25,863,000. There were also contributions from the Home Office (£1,214,000) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (£459,000). DFIDs contribution was split into £15,920,000 un-earmarked and £9,943,000 earmarked. It is not possible to say how much of the contributions went specifically to Colombia.
	DFID contributes to the European Commissions humanitarian assistance programme for victims of internal conflict in Colombia through its 18 per cent. contribution to the EC. The EC will be providing €12 million humanitarian aid in 2007, to support people who are displaced as a result of the longstanding internal conflict in Colombia. The funds will be distributed by humanitarian NGOs and the UNHCR.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Gareth Thomas: All of the A4 size photocopying paper used in the Department for International Development in the last three years was of 100 per cent. recycled content. In 2004-05 and until approximately midway into 2005-06 a very small proportion (less than 0.5 per cent. of our total paper) of virgin A3 size paper was used. In the later part of 2005-06 that too became 100 per cent. recycled.
	DFID does not hold the data regarding paper for printed publications centrally, and due to disproportionate cost we cannot supply this information. However, DFID routinely requires that the designers and printers under contract to produce DFID publications source paper that has a minimum of 75 per cent. recycled content.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of establishing his Department.

Hilary Benn: When established, the Department for International Development took over the functions, staff and premises of the Overseas Development Administration. There was no cost to public funds associated with this transfer of functions. To establish detailed figures for other set up costs such as changes in stationery and additional ministerial offices would involve disproportionate costs but these would not have been significant. The running costs outturn for DFID in 1997-98 was 2.4 per cent. lower than the outturn for 1996-97.

Nigeria: Overseas Aid

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what additional aid he plans to make available for the Independent Electoral Commission in Nigeria to deal with the additional workload since the election in that country.

Hilary Benn: It is too early to make any significant decision on how DFIDs programme in Nigeria should be adjusted in response to the elections. Due to the problems encountered, additional elections were being held in many parts of the country on 28 April. Currently all sides are reflecting upon the electoral process and the results as these are returned.
	However, we are also reviewing our support for the electoral process, including our support to Independent Nigeria Electoral Commission (INEC). DFID provided £2.5 million of support to a Joint Donor Basket Fund managed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The other donors are the European Union and Canadian CIDA. The majority of the joint funding was notionally allocated to INEC. But INEC has consistently turned down donor offers of technical support, so spending has been lower than anticipated.
	Given the events of the last three weeks, the UNDP are now doing a stock-take on our joint support to INEC. We are expecting proposals early this week on how we can best wrap-up our existing programme of support for INEC. After this, there will also be a review of lessons and a priority for the coming few months will be to reach a consensus in Nigeria on how best INEC can be supported in future. In addition, we will be undertaking joint analysis on the wider aspects of political governance which need to be addressed in order for the 2011 elections to be an improvement on those of 2007.

Palestinians: Sanctions

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact of banking sanctions on conditions of life in the Palestinian territories; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Since Hamas formed a Palestinian Government in March 2006, international banks dealing with the Palestinian Authority (PA) have risked litigation under US anti-terrorism laws. One result of this has been that the PAs single treasury account has been frozen. This has undermined important progress made over recent years to improve public financial accountability and control.
	Although this situation has made it harder to transfer money to the PA, the PA has been able to continue spending the limited funds it has available. DFID and other donors have also continued and increased aid to help meet the basic needs of Palestinians through other channels. For example, European Union (community and member states) aid is estimated to have increased by 27 per cent. in 2007, compared with 2006. This has partially offset the impact on Palestinian livelihoods of Israel's decision to withhold clearance revenues due to the PA.
	DFID is providing technical assistance to the Palestinian Monetary Authority to help ensure that Palestinian banks are able to meet international standards for tackling terrorist financing and money laundering.

Sudan: Dams

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has made to the government of Sudan on the issue of the Hamdab Dam and what account is taken of its impact on the local Amri people.

Hilary Benn: The UK is concerned by the Government of Sudans plans to forcibly relocate local communities in the River Nile State by the end of 2007 because of the Hamdab Dam project. Strong protests from local tribes led to an agreement on 1 June 2006, for the state Government and local people to work together to resolve the issue. But the subsequent displacement of 2,200 families without prior warning suggests the Government are reneging on this commitment.
	British embassy officials in Khartoum have met representatives of the local people affected by the project. The UN Mission in Sudans (UNMIS) Human Rights Unit, on behalf of the international community, is following the situation closely. We raised the plight of those affected by the Hamdab Dam project at a meeting of UNMIS and international partners on 26 April.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian aid he expects to be provided to the Darfur region of Sudan and eastern Chad in the next six months; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Total donor intentions are difficult to estimate. In 2006, the UNs humanitarian appeal for Darfur was 79 per cent. funded, it is expected that similar levels will be forthcoming this year. DFIDs contribution is largely through the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF), to which we contributed £40 million in 2007, accounting for approximately 60 per cent. of the total. This supports critical needs throughout Sudan. DFID also expect to spend around £15 million over the next year in Darfur through direct grants to humanitarian non-governmental organisations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
	In the case of Chad, the UNs current annual appeal of £89 million is 40 per cent. funded. The UN is about to supplement this with an additional appeal to support the recent increase in internal displacement. DFID is providing £5 million to humanitarian operations in Chad this year, a rise of £1 million from last year.
	We will continue to monitor overall funding for Darfur and Chad and support the UN in lobbying other donors to make substantial and timely contributions.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by the House was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Nick Harvey: Sufficient data to provide the information in the form requested are not available. The House seeks to use the best environmental option for the paper it uses, compatible with the needs of each of its areas of business. I will write to the hon. Member about the specifications of paper provided to Members and used for photocopying and printed publications.

TREASURY

Average Earnings

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average hourly pay was of the  (a) (i) lowest and (ii) highest decile,  (b) (i) lowest and (ii) highest quartile and  (c) highest duo-decile of working age people in employment in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 30 April 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average hourly pay was of the (a) (i) lowest and (ii) highest decile, (b) (i) lowest and (ii) highest quartile and (c) highest duo-decile of working age people in employment in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (135064)
	Average levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. This is the standard definition used for ASHE. The ASHE does not collect information on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	I attach a table showing the 10th, 25th, 75th, 90th and 95th percentile of Gross Hourly Pay, corresponding to the lowest decile, lowest quartile, highest quartile, highest decile, and highest duo-decile respectively, for all employees, for the years 1997-2006.
	The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
	
		
			  Gross hourly earnings for all employee( 1)  JobsUK 
			  £ 
			   Percentile 
			   10( th)  25( th)  75( th)  90( th)  95( th) 
			 1997 3.81 4.96 10.64 15.29 18.98 
			 1998 4.00 5.13 11.12 15.96 19.98 
			 1999 4.18 5.36 11.55 16.69 20.96 
			 2000 4.36 5.56 12.03 17.27 21.81 
			 2001 4.53 5.79 12.62 18.27 23.51 
			 2002 4.78 6.00 13.18 19.21 24.72 
			 2003 5.01 6.30 13.68 19.93 25.66 
			 2004 excl. 5.21 6.56 14.28 20.75 26.67 
			 2004 inc.(2) 5.18 6.50 14.15 20.49 26.15 
			 2005 5.36 6.71 14.71 21.42 27.38 
			 2006 5.57 6.99 15.33 22.29 28.45 
			 (1) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. (2) In 2004 additional supplementary surveys were introduced to improve the coverage of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Figures are presented both excluding and including the additional surveys for comparison purposes.  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics

Members: Correspondence

Anthony Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the chief executive of the Tax Credit Office to reply to the hon. Member for Totnes letters of  (a) 11 December 2006 and  (b) 22 February 2007 on the case of Mr. and Mrs. Langford of Queen Elizabeth Drive, Paignton.

Stephen Timms: HMRC have sent a reply to the hon. Member and have apologised to him for the delay in replying.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 22 March 2007 (PO Ref: 1/48650/2007).

Edward Balls: holding answer 27 April 2007
	I hope to be in a position to do so very shortly.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect he expects the recent revisions of the Olympics budget to have on plans for Crossrail.

Stephen Timms: Crossrail funding and financing issues will be considered further in the context of Sir Michael Lyons recommendations and wider spending pressures and priorities. However, the affordability challenge represented by the scheme remains significant.

Revenue and Customs: Publicity

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many click throughs from HM Revenue and Customs online advertisements to the HM Revenue and Customs website have been recorded as part of the online aspect of the Tax doesn't have to be taxing campaign since its launch.

John Healey: As at end of March 2007 1,151,339 click throughs from HM Revenue and Customs online advertisements to the HM Revenue and Customs website have been recorded as part of the online aspect of the Tax doesn't have to be taxing campaign.

Taxation: Members

David Heath: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) hon. Members,  (b) Members of the House of Lords and  (c) Members of the European Parliament elected for United Kingdom constituencies are non-resident in the UK for tax purposes.

Edward Balls: No Members of Parliament or Members of the European Parliament are non-resident in the UK for tax purposes. This information is available because the tax affairs of Members of Parliament and Members of the European Parliament are dealt with centrally by HMRC. No such information is collected for Members of the House of Lords whose tax affairs are not dealt with centrally but by local tax offices.

Taxation: Overseas Residence

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people claimed non-domicile tax status in the UK in each of the last five years for which records are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the tax forgone by the UK as a consequence of use of the remittance basis by those not domiciled in the UK;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the average length of residence in the UK of those claiming non-domicile status;
	(4)  what methodology is used to estimate the economic benefits to the UK from the retention of the domicile laws on taxation;
	(5)  what estimates he has made of the economic benefits to the UK from the retention of the domicile laws on taxation;
	(6)  what investigations have been carried out looking into non-domicile status in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  how many people qualified for non-domicile tax treatment in the UK in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the economy of non-domiciled residence tax status; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: No overall figure for the number of individuals with non-domicile tax status is available.
	Estimates of the tax foregone in the UK as a consequence of the use of the remittance basis by those not domiciled in the UK are not routinely made. Information is not held on overseas income and gains that do not give rise to a tax liability in the UK.
	Information on the average length of residence is not routinely collected. A small sample survey in 2004 suggested that the majority of non-domiciled individuals who had already left the UK spent no more than five years here.
	No estimates have been made of the economic benefits to the UK from the retention of the domicile laws on taxation.
	HMRC carry out investigations into non-domiciled status where this may be relevant to a taxpayer's UK tax liability. Such investigations may occur to verify information given to HMRC by individuals completing self-assessment tax returns or making other claims for non-domicile status; as a result of third-party disclosure; or because of the outcome of other HMRC enquiries. No information is available on the number of investigations undertaken.
	Information on how many individuals qualify for non-domicile tax treatment in the UK is not available. Some 112,000 individuals indicated non-domicile tax status through their SA returns in 2004-05.

Taxation: Overseas Residence

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people  (a) employed by and  (b) contracted to supply services to HM Treasury claim non-domicile tax treatment.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs is statutorily debarred from disclosing to third parties information relating to the tax affairs of individuals or public and private sector bodies. Treasury Ministers do not have access to such information.

Taxation: Polygamy

Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people married abroad polygamously and settled in the UK transferred property free of  (a) inheritance tax and  (b) capital gains tax to their spouses in each year for which figures are available.

Edward Balls: No information is available on such transfers.

Written Questions

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer question 131290, tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 28 March 2007, on the abolition of the 10p tax rate.

Edward Balls: The Treasury hopes to be in a position to answer the right hon. Gentlemans question shortly.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council of England

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what the investment returns were for the Arts Council of England from National Lottery funding in August 2006; and what they were in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much funding the Arts Council of England received from the National Lottery in August 2006; and how much it received in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Lammy: holding answer 27 April 2007
	The following table shows the Arts Council England's income from the National Lottery Distribution Fund in August 2006, in March 2007 and in the entire financial year 2006-07.
	
		
			  Period  Operator -related income to nearest £1,000  Investment i ncome to nearest £1,000  Total to nearest £1,000 
			 August 2006 13,794,000 479,000 14,273,000 
			 March 2007 12,566,000 589,000 13,154,000 
			 Financial year 2006-07 142,861,000 6,396,000 149,257,000

Broadcasting Programmes: Children

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps to improve the provision of childrens programming by public service broadcasters.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 27 April 2007
	In advance of their next scheduled PSB Review, Ofcom have announced they are looking at the future of childrens TV programming in the UK. We await the outcome of that review with interest.

Broadcasting Programmes: Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the sustainability of the market for the commissioning of quality children's television programmes in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Government recognise that the changing broadcasting environment presents challenges to the ability of commercial public service broadcasters to sustain their programming for children.
	We welcome Ofcom's review into children's television, due to be published this autumn, which will include the current state of the children's TV market and the sources of future funding for children's programming.

Broadcasting Programmes: Violence

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government plan to take in response to the recent conclusions of Ofcom on violence in television soap operas.

Shaun Woodward: Parliament has charged the independent regulator, Ofcom, with maintaining broadcasting standards, notably to protect children and to protect the general public from harmful and offensive material. Ofcom sets out the rules and guidance with which broadcasters must comply. Within this framework, it is the broadcasters' job to make judgments about what individual programmes should contain and the time at which they are broadcast. It is a long-standing principle that the Government do not interfere in programming matters. That applies to both scheduling and content. Where there are deliberate, serious or repeated breaches of Ofcom's rules, the regulator may impose statutory sanctions against the broadcaster.

Cultural Heritage: Essex

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps are being taken to ensure the preservation of Essexs cultural heritage; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: English Heritage, the Governments statutory adviser on heritage matters, is taking a number of steps to ensure the preservation of Essexs cultural heritage. These include contributing funding towards buildings repairssuch as £400,000 towards repairs to St. Osyths Prioryand securing the future of a number of buildings at risk, enabling 44 buildings to be removed from their Register. English Heritage is in discussion with agencies involved in the Thames Gateway expansion, the Stansted airport proposed expansion and proposed wind farm off Maldon. English Heritage is responsible for the management of 11 historic sites in Essex, the largest being Audley End House. English Heritage is a member of the East of England Regional Cultural Consortium and chairs the East of England Heritage Environment Forum.
	Since 1994 the Heritage Lottery Fund has made close to 500 awards to the county totalling some £33.5 million to preserve cultural heritage.

Departments: Bullying

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many complaints of bullying have been investigated in her Department in the last 12 months; and how many complaints have been upheld.

David Lammy: There have been no complaints of bullying investigated in the Department in the last 12 months.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by her Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: The photocopying paper used by the Department is made from 100 per cent. recycled paper.
	All publications have been produced on recycled stock in the last three years.

Digital Switchover Help Scheme

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent assisting older and disabled people with the switch to digital television in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006; how much it has spent in 2007; and how much it plans to spend in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010.

Shaun Woodward: To the present date, a total of £211,000 has been spent on helping vulnerable groups with switchover, this being solely for the Bolton Digital Television Trial in 2005-06. This funding was equally split with the BBC.
	All future assistance, which is to be delivered by the Digital Switchover Help Scheme (DSHS), will be provided by the BBC and paid for through the licence fee. We estimate the cost of the scheme at £600 million and this will include assistance provided for the Whitehaven project.

National Lottery: Charities

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the eligibility criteria are for registered charitable organisations to receive Lottery funding; and which charitable institutions are ineligible.

Richard Caborn: Almost any organisation in the United Kingdom, including registered charities, can apply for lottery funding for projects which are not intended primarily for private gain and for which funds would be unlikely to be made available by Government or the devolved administrations.
	Under the National Lottery Act 2006, charitable expenditure, in relation to expenditure under the charitable, health, education and environment good causes, means expenditure for a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purpose. Such expenditure is not restricted to registered charities, which are able to benefit from all the lottery good causes.
	However, each of the lottery distributing bodies publishes specific eligibility criteria for each of its funding programmes, and applicant organisations must comply with these.

Office of Communications

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how she plans the Ofcom Public Service Publisher service to be funded.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 27 April 2007
	Ofcom published its discussion document into the potential role of the Public Service Publisher (PSP) in January and asked for comments by the end of March. At present they are reviewing those responses with a view to publishing a summary later in 2007.
	While we believe the proposal for the PSP has stimulated a healthy debate it remains too early to make a wider Government response to the PSP proposal.

Olympic Games: Finance

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the planned World Class Pathway funding for the Beijing Cycle was spent in the 2006-07 financial year, broken down by Olympic sport.

Richard Caborn: Between 2006 and 2009, a total of £250.2 million has been budgeted to be invested in the World Class Performance Pathway (WCPP) for Olympic and Paralympic sport, of which a total of £72.5 million was ring fenced to be spent in 2006-07.
	The total amount actually invested in Olympic sports for 2006-07 is primarily dependent on the extent to which their World Class Pathway programmes and governance are fit for purpose to receive public funding. The final figures will be available once UK Sport has signed off the audited 2006-07 year-end accounts in June.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how she expects Essex to participate in the Cultural Olympiad initiative.

David Lammy: The Cultural Olympiad has been designed in such a way that creative and cultural organisations at all levels, from the largest national bodies to the smallest community groups, can participate. We are working with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to deliver this.
	The Nations and Regions are developing plans to maximise the benefit of the London Games to all parts of the UK. In addition, I have recently announced that a network of Regional Creative Programmers in eight of the English Regions is to be established. Their role will contribute to the delivery of cultural events in all the regions in the run-up to and during the 2012 Games.
	The Greater London Authority is also developing proposals on how to co-ordinate and deliver a pan-London cultural programme.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures are being taken by her Department to ensure that the 2012 Olympic Games is a drug-free event.

Richard Caborn: The Department sponsors UK Sport, the UKs national anti-doping organisation, which is responsible for delivering the UK's national anti-doping programme. In the run-up to the 2012 Games, UK Sport will continue to deliver its anti-doping programme for all Olympic and Paralympic sports.
	The chief medical officer at the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), who was appointed in February, is responsible for the anti-doping programme during the 2012 Games, under delegation from the International Olympic Committee.
	In light of this appointment, LOCOG has begun work on arrangements for the testing programme, and will continue to do so in collaboration with UK Sport and DCMS.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether Olympic regional creative programmers will be assigned to  (a) London,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland.

David Lammy: We are planning cultural events in the run-up to and during the 2012 Games to span the UK. The "Nations and Regions Group" of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is developing plans to maximise the benefits of and engagement in the 2012 Games for their respective nations and regions. Participation in the Cultural Olympiad will be included within these plans.
	The network of Creative Programmers being established will cover the eight English regions outside London. Colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are considering what arrangements would fit their plans to participate in the cultural programme. The Greater London Authority is also developing proposals on how to co-ordinate and deliver a pan-London cultural programme.

Public Libraries: Kent

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with Kent county council on redundancies in its library service.

David Lammy: holding answer 27 April 2007
	None. Staffing of libraries and library authorities is a matter for local authorities to decide, after considering available resources and local priorities, providing it does not affect the authoritys ability to deliver a comprehensive and efficient library service to the public as required under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

Public Service Broadcasting

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she plans to bring forward the review of public sector broadcasting in view of the effect of Web 2.0.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 27 April 2007
	Under the Communications Act 2003 Ofcom has the responsibility of periodically reviewing public service television broadcasting. The timing of such reviews is a matter for Ofcom, subject to a requirement that they take place at least once every five years. I understand that Ofcom intends to begin the next review in 2008.
	For their part, the Government intend to conduct a review of the case for distributing public funding more widely beyond the BBC before the end of the current licence fee settlement.

Public Service Broadcasting: Children

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the regulatory requirements are for each public service broadcaster in relation to children's television; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Section 264 of the Communications Act 2003 requires Ofcom to regularly review and report on the extent to which public service broadcasters fulfil the purposes of public service television, including the provision (when the services are taken together) of a
	suitable quantity and range of high quality and original programmes for children and young people.
	Public service broadcasters are required to consult Ofcom on proposals for significant changes in their statements of programme policy.

Television: Telephone Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many complaints her Department has received in 2007 on premium-rate telephone competitions.

Shaun Woodward: To date the Department has received 21 queries regarding the operation of premium rate telephone competitions in 2007. However, complaints about premium rate telephone competitions are a matter for the independent regulators, Ofcom and ICSTIS.

PRIME MINISTER

Berlin Declaration

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he made to his European counterparts during consultations on the Berlin Declaration; if he will place in the Library a copy of such representations; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I made no formal representations to EU counterparts on the Berlin Declaration. However the normal contacts took place at official level, and I discussed the declaration informally with Chancellor Merkel in the course of normal diplomatic contacts.
	The document was written by the German presidency of the EU and presented to leaders shortly before the summit to mark the 50th anniversary of the EU on 25-26 March 2007.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by his Office was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Hilary Armstrong) on 27 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1330W.

Policy Review

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister for what reason reference to Trident or its successor was not made in the policy review report Building on Progress: Britain in the World published on 17 April.

Tony Blair: Building on Progress: Britain in the World draws on the conclusions and discussions of the Ministerial Working Group on Britain in the World, and seminars for junior Ministers conducted as part of the policy review process. It sets out a high-level overview of the broad UK approach to foreign policy since 1997, what the UK has achieved, and what the UK should seek to achieve in the decades to come. It does not aim to cover every issue in detail.
	My statement of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 21-24, set out in detail the Governments position on maintaining the UKs independent nuclear deterrent. The reasons for that decision were further explained in the White Paper The Future of the United Kingdoms Nuclear Deterrent (Cm 6994), published on the same day. The House voted in favour of the Governments decision on 14 March 2007.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Control

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the recommendations of the United Nations Panel of Experts on the strengthening of the current arms embargo set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1591; and what steps she has taken in response to the recommendations.

Ian McCartney: We supported the report by the Panel of Experts and its recommendations at the UN Sanctions Committee. It has not yet been transmitted to the UN Security Council (UNSC) nor has it been made public.
	At a meeting of the UNSC on 16 April chaired by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, she made the case for further sanctions to impose on the Government of Sudan and rebel movements if they fail to abide by their agreements. We are working on a draft UNSC Resolution with other Security Council members to extend the UN arms embargo to the whole of Sudan, in line with the EU arms embargo.

Departments: Oral Questions

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many questions tabled by hon. and right hon. Members to her Department for oral answer have been transferred to other departments since May 2005.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has incomplete records of transfers of oral questions prior to November 2005. Subject to this caveat, our researches show that since May 2005 the FCO has transferred two oral questions.

Saudi Arabia: European Fighter Aircraft

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Saudi Arabia on the sale of Eurofighter aircraft, signed in December 2005.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	No. This document is confidential between the two Governments. I am withholding the information as it would, or would be likely to prejudice international relations and harm the interests of the United Kingdom.

Sudan

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her counterparts at the EU Council of Ministers on pressing the Government of Sudan  (a) to accept and implement the full deployment of a strengthened international force with UN elements in Darfur and along the border with Chad,  (b) to monitor the EU arms embargo to Sudan,  (c) to help implement the Tripoli Agreement of February 2006 and  (d) to extend the Sudan sanctions regime against key individuals.

Ian McCartney: At the EUs General Affairs and External Relations Council on 23 April, which my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary attended, European Foreign Ministers:
	recalled that transition to a full African Union/UN hybrid force for Darfur was urgently required;
	underlined the urgency of deploying a UN operation in Eastern Chad and the North-East of the Central African Republic;
	called on both Sudan and Chad to refrain from further escalation and fully respect their commitments under the 2006 Tripoli Agreement; and
	reiterated their readiness to consider further measures against any party which obstructs implementation of the peace agreements for Darfur.
	The meeting did not address the EU arms embargo for Sudan, nor are there any plans to amend it.

Sudan: Arms Trade

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the evidence presented to the UN Security Council of the transportation of arms and heavy weaponry into Darfur; and what reports on the matter she has received from the British Ambassador to the United Nations.

Ian McCartney: We supported the report by the Panel of Experts and its recommendations at the UN Sanctions Committee. It has not yet been transmitted to the UN Security Council nor has it been made public. Our Ambassador to the UN, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, reports developments regularly to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. We continue to discuss the case for further sanctions in the UN.

Sudan: International Assistance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the impact on humanitarian operations of a no-fly zone over Darfur.

Ian McCartney: The situation in Darfur is totally unacceptable. We are pressing our international partners at the UN Security Council (UNSC) to impose further measures on those responsible for the humanitarian crisis through their violations of UNSC Resolutions. Those measures include targeted sanctions against individuals engaged in violence or responsible for authorising it, an extension of the arms embargo to cover the whole of Sudan and measures to allow better monitoring of the illegal use of aircraft in Darfur. Further options remain under consideration, including a UNSC imposition of a no-fly zone. The humanitarian and security implications of such measures will be important considerations.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to tackle the harassment of humanitarian aid workers by the Sudanese authorities in the Darfur region; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The UK played a prominent role with the UN and other partners in securing a joint communiqué on 28 March between the UN and the Government of Sudan on humanitarian operations in Darfur. This committed the Government of Sudan to remove bureaucratic impediments and respect the neutrality and independence of agencies involved in the relief effort.
	We are pressing the Government of Sudan to implement their commitments in full, including in a letter that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development sent with five other foreign and development Ministers to the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Lam Akol. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary repeated this point when she chaired an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on 16 April.

Sudan: Overseas Investment

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the business community to divest from Sudan on ethical and prudential grounds.

Ian McCartney: The restrictive measures adopted by the United Kingdom against Sudan are targeted to apply maximum pressure on those who engage in violence or who are responsible for authorising it. They include a travel ban and assets freeze on individuals who impede the peace process or constitute a threat to stability in the Darfur region. Members of the European Union also decided to go further than the arms embargo imposed by the UN and extend the embargo to the whole of Sudan.
	We are now pressing our international partners at the UN Security Council to impose further measures on those responsible for the humanitarian crisis through their violations of UN Security Council Resolutions. Those measures include targeted sanctions against individuals engaged in violence or responsible for authorising it, an asset freeze of commercial entities owned by sanctioned individuals, an extension of the arms embargo to cover the whole of Sudan and measures to allow better monitoring of the illegal use of aircraft in Darfur.
	We have not yet considered taking steps to encourage disinvestment from Sudan by British companies. However, if the situation in Darfur does not improve then we will have to consider taking further measures.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to reach agreement on the proposed deployment of 20,000 UN peacekeeping troops in the Darfur region of Sudan; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to facilitate Stage 3 of the agreement between the government of Sudan and the United Nations; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary chaired an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on 16 April which welcomed the Sudanese Governments agreement to the UNs Heavy Support Package (the second stage of the agreement between the UN and the Government of Sudan). We are pressing them to agree to a joint African Union (AU)/UN Hybrid Force (the third stage). If the Sudanese Government and rebels do not co-operate, we will move to tougher sanctions.
	We have seconded staff into the UNs Department of Peacekeeping Operations and are supporting their work through political lobbying. We are also a major contributor to the AU Mission in Sudan to keep it going until a joint AU/UN Hybrid Force can be deployed.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has  (a) made to and  (b) received from the Government of Sudan and the Government of South Sudan on the implementation of the revenue sharing commitments made in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Ian McCartney: We continue to urge the joint North-South Government of National Unity to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in full. This was a key message for our intervention at the Sudan Consortium in Khartoum (19-21 March). The UK is also a member of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC). The AEC is tasked with monitoring CPA implementation and has four sub groups including one focused on wealth sharing. It is the main mechanism for dialogue between the international community and the CPA parties, and meets every month. We also engage both parties regularly on all elements of CPA implementation, including wealth sharing, through our bilateral representation in Khartoum and Juba.
	On wealth sharing, I note that over US$1.8 billion of national oil revenue has been transferred to the Government of Southern Sudan. The Fiscal and Financial Monitoring and Allocation Commission has also begun work on determining the division of revenues between the different tiers of government. But much more needs to be done.

Turkey: Ethnic Groups

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports she has received on persecution of the Christian minority in Turkey.

Geoff Hoon: Our Embassy in Ankara reports regularly on human rights, including freedom of religion. We also receive reports from the European Commission and other international organisations. We are aware of attacks affecting Christian minority groups, including the murder of Father Andrea Santoro, a Catholic priest, in February 2006 and the attack on 18 April on three Christians at a publishing house in Malatya.
	The Turkish Government have strongly condemned this recent attack and we continue to urge them to keep up momentum in human rights reforms and encourage them to ensure implementation of EU standards is full and consistent. This of course includes freedom of religion.

Uganda: Armed Conflict

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Ugandan authorities on the declaration by President Museveni and his Security Minister Amama Mbabazi that the Peoples Redemption Army suspects will only be released if they apply for amnesty; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: We continue to raise our wider concerns about the continued detention of the Peoples Redemption Army suspects with the Government of Uganda. Most recently, our High Commissioner in Kampala, with other EU Heads of Mission, made representations about this issue to Foreign Minister Kutesa on 13 April.
	We will continue to make representations until the Government of Uganda abides by the constitution and respects the rule of law and independence of the judiciary.

Uganda: Peace Negotiations

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department plans to take to help achieve a successful outcome to the peace talks between the Lords Resistance Army and Ugandan Government representatives due to commence in the week beginning 30 April; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Following interventions by UN Special Envoy Joaquim Chissano, the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan Government have agreed to resume peace talks in Juba on 26 April. This is encouraging, as is the extension of the cessation of hostilities agreement until the end of June.
	We believe that the peace talks in Juba between the LRA and the Government of Uganda offer the best chance for many years to achieve peace. Through the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool the UK has provided £250,000 to a UN fund set up to support the talks process and we have made it clear that we will consider any further requests for assistance very carefully.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departments: Databases

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how often databases within his Department are updated with records of the deaths of individuals; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions updated its databases with dates of death approximately 575,000 times in 2006. We have processes in place where we receive death notifications from Registrars on a weekly basis in order to update records. However, many notifications are received from the next of kin in advance of the notification from the Registrars.

Departments: Databases

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations his Department has received from data suppression industry experts regarding data suppression technologies; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The Department's IT group has had no direct engagement with the data suppression industry regarding data suppression technologies.

Departments: Databases

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on database suppression technology in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and  (d) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Nothing.

Departments: Planning

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are taken by his Department to include  (a) older people and  (b) people with disabilities in strategic planning, policy making and the delivery of the services they use.

Anne McGuire: The Government's strategy on older people and ageing, Opportunity Age was first published in March 2005. A series of consultation events at which the views and ideas of older people were sought has been invaluable in shaping that strategy.
	DWP is piloting a LinkAge Plus programme, to test ways of building fully integrated services from health and benefits to leisure and learning. Eight pilots (led by local authorities) have been looking at ways of joining up government for older people. LinkAge Plus puts older people at the heart of the process in identifying effective models that meet their needs and aspirations and involves them in their design.
	DWP also sponsors Better Government for Older People, comprising approximately 200 voluntary elected members from older people's forums and groups across the UK, which works to reflect the views of older people in policy making.
	DWP engages in a range of ongoing involvement activities with disabled people to ensure that their needs and views are reflected in both policy making and service delivery. These are outlined in our disability equality schemes published on 1 December 2006.
	The Department sponsored the creation of Equality 2025, a new non-departmental public body providing a mechanism through which disabled people can have direct communication with central Government to influence, at an early stage, Government policies and service delivery that affect disabled people's lives.
	We also consult with disabled people to obtain their feedback on new policy proposals or changes as part of our diversity impact assessment process. The findings from such consultation help to influence the final decision on those proposals or changes.

Disability Living Allowance: Greater London

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals claimed disability living allowance in each London borough for each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Disability living allowance cases in payment in London boroughs as at each August, 2002-06 
			  Thousand 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Camden 7.88 8.38 8.67 8.93 9.05 
			 City of London 0.13 0.14 0.14 0.15 0.15 
			 Hackney 9.19 9.49 9.75 9.94 10.04 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5.5 5.85 6.11 6.3 6.44 
			 Haringey 8.24 8.63 8.97 9.22 9.41 
			 Islington 8.42 8.92 9.23 9.54 9.72 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3.79 4.08 4.25 4.42 4.54 
			 Lambeth 8.52 8.96 9.59 10.05 10.39 
			 Lewisham 8.95 9.51 10.05 10.5 10.91 
			 Newham 11.73 12.17 12.34 12.51 12.63 
			 Southwark 9.03 9.62 10.17 10.57 10.94 
			 Tower Hamlets 8.32 8.72 8.99 9.23 9.26 
			 Wandsworth 7.62 8.02 8.35 8.59 8.72 
			 Westminster 6.24 6.83 7.27 7.48 7.75 
			 Barking and Dagenham 8.42 8.82 8.95 8.93 8.84 
			 Barnet 8.21 8.67 9.11 9.43 9.75 
			 Bexley 6.31 6.75 7.14 7.5 7.79 
			 Brent 8.51 9.07 9.5 9.7 9.87 
			 Bromley 7.04 7.47 7.85 8.26 8.54 
			 Croydon 9.12 9.93 10.53 11.11 11.47 
			 Ealing 10.01 10.43 10.72 10.85 11.07 
			 Enfield 8.62 9.11 9.54 9.86 10.13 
			 Greenwich 9.06 9.59 10.2 10.59 10.73 
			 Harrow 5.86 6.24 6.52 6.73 6.92 
			 Havering 7.41 7.85 8.18 8.32 8.47 
			 Hillingdon 7.25 7.6 7.91 8.12 8.32 
			 Hounslow 7.27 7.67 8.01 8.27 8.46 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2.56 2.76 2.95 3.16 3.23 
			 Merton 4.05 4.38 4.62 4.81 4.93 
			 Redbridge 7.82 8.38 8.75 8.97 9.19 
			 Richmond upon Thames 3.2 3.36 3.53 3.63 3.71 
			 Sutton 4.55 4.83 5.16 5.43 5.57 
			 Waltham Forest 8.37 8.76 9 9.19 9.33 
			  Note: Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10; some additional disclosure control has also been applied. Caseload figures are for the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made towards securing the unclaimed assets of  (a) Legal and General and  (b) the Prudential for the financial assistance scheme.

James Purnell: holding answer on 19 April 2007
	On 28 March John Hutton announced a review to examine whether an alternative treatment of the residual funds in affected pension schemes and other non-public expenditure funding that have not already been allocated, could be used to increase levels of assistance above the 80 per cent. provided by the financial assistance scheme.
	The review has started and is being led by Andrew Young, Directing Actuary at the Government Actuary's Department. The review team has already met some key stakeholders and will be contacting others shortly to tell them about the review and to invite their contributions. The review will provide an initial view in the summer and will then report by the end of the year.

Incapacity Benefit: Jobseeker's Allowance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much he estimates will be spent on providing jobseekers allowance incapacity benefits for 2007-08.

Anne McGuire: Planned expenditure in 2007-08, is £2,546 million for jobseekers allowance, £6,428 million for incapacity benefit, and £887 million for severe disablement allowance.

Income Support: Young People

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will give consideration to the Social Security Advisory Committee's Sixth, Seventh and Eighth reports, with particular reference to the recommendation that the full rate of income support should be restored for young people under 25 years of age living away from home; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Since income support was introduced in 1988, a single person aged 18 to 24 has been paid at a lower rate than single people aged 25 and over. It would be a new initiative rather than a restoration, to pay single customers aged 18 to 24 at the same rate as single customers aged 25 and over. There are no plans to change these rules.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Gloucester

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were claiming Jobseekers Allowance in  (a) Cheltenham and  (b) all Gloucestershire constituencies in each month since March (i) without seasonal adjustment and (ii) seasonally adjusted.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table; March 2007 is the most recent available information. Seasonally adjusted figures are not available at constituency level.
	
		
			  Jobseekers allowance claimants in Gloucestershire parliamentary constituencies, without seasonal adjustment: March 2007 
			  Constituency  Claimants 
			 Cheltenham 1,443 
			 Cotswold 523 
			 Forest of Dean 937 
			 Gloucester 1,594 
			 Stroud 731 
			 Tewkesbury 684 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are unrounded. 2. Figures include clerically held cases.  Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems.

Maternity Benefits

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was underpaid in maternity allowances due to  (a) customer error and  (b) official error in each of the last five years; and how many people were affected.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

New Deal Schemes: Unemployment

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of the new deal on unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 23 April 2007
	 Since 1997, claimant unemployment has fallen by 708,000 and the number of people on lone parent benefits has fallen by 230,000. We are also spending £5 billion less on unemployment than we did in 1997.
	The new deal, which has helped more than 1.7 million people into work since January 1998, has contributed to this success. It has helped reduce long-term claimant unemployment to close to its lowest for 30 years and to significantly reduce long-term youth claimant unemployment.

Pensions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the size of savings needed to buy an annuity for  (a) a single worker and  (b) a married couple to ensure a pension income that takes them above pension credit eligibility.

James Purnell: The size of annuity required to take an individual above pension credit eligibility depends on a wide range of factors. This includes the type of annuity an individual purchases, their entitlement to basic and addition state pension, and any additional needs they may have which affect pension credit entitlement. It also depends on whether their pension will take them above pension credit eligibility at the point of retirement or over their expected lifetime and whether their pension will take them above guarantee credit only or savings credit.
	Under our proposed pension reforms someone retiring in 2053 with a good contribution record (through working or caring) could expect to receive around £135 per week from the state pension on retirement (in 2005-06 earnings terms). This isfor a single personabove the end point of pension credit. Couples with good contribution records will be substantially above the end point for pension credit.
	Only those on the guarantee credit alone will face pound for pound withdrawal on private saving. Someone with around 25 years of working or caring retiring in 2050 will have accrued enough state pension to bring them above the guarantee credit only. Our analysis suggests that in 2050 around 6 per cent. of all pensioners will be eligible for guarantee credit only, and only around one in 50 pensioners will retire directly onto guarantee credit only. In addition, those with small amounts of savings will be able to take them as a lump sum under the trivial commutation rules.

Remploy: Business Interests

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what outside business interests directors at Remploy are permitted to pursue; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Remploys Executive Directors are permitted to pursue outside business interests, providing this does not impact on their role at Remploy and they have the permission of the Company. Non-Executive Directors are free to pursue outside business interests.

Remploy: Management

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many layers of management operate at the St. Helens Remploy site.

Anne McGuire: There are three layers of management at the St. Helens Remploy site. These are the General Manager, Operations Manager and Local Remploy Manager.

Incapacity Benefit

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of incapacity benefit claimants returned to work within  (a) two weeks,  (b) one month,  (c) three months and  (d) six months in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The latest Destination of Benefit Leavers Survey (2004) suggests 50 per cent. of incapacity benefit leavers returned to work of 16 hours or more in that year, higher than reported in the previous year.
	The Destination of Benefit Leavers Survey also provides the following breakdown for those leaving incapacity benefits for work, by benefit duration.
	
		
			  IB claim duration (weeks)  Percentage returned to/starting work of 16 hours or more 
			 0-13 67 
			 13-26 61 
			 26-52 46 
			 52+ 40 
			  Notes: 1. Incapacity benefits include, contributory incapacity benefit and income support for the sick and disabled. 2. Leavers excludes those leaving as a result of death.  Source: DWP Destination of Benefit Leavers 2004. Research Report no. 244

Social Security Benefits

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the name of each benefit administered by his Department was in each year since 1996-97; what the level of each benefit was in each year; what the total amount paid in each benefit was in each year; what proportion of the total paid in each year was means-tested; and what the cost of administering each payment was in each year.

James Plaskitt: The name of each benefit administered by the Department, and the total amount paid in each benefit in each year, since 1996-97, can be found in benefit expenditure tables on the Department for Work and Pensions website at the following address:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/medium_term.asp.
	The benefit names are listed in column A of table 3. Annual amounts paid in each benefit are listed from 1996-97 (column H) to 2007-08 (column S). All figures are outturn, apart from 2006-07, which are estimated outturn, and 2007-08, which are planned expenditure. The figures in table 3 are in cash terms and are rounded to the nearest million pounds. Expenditure at 2007-08 prices can be found in table 4, which is laid out exactly the same as table 3.
	There are notes attached to each internet table, but the following particular points should be noted:
	1. Responsibility for child benefit, guardians allowance and child's special allowance transferred to Inland Revenue, now HM Revenue and Customs, in April 2003.
	2. Responsibility for war pensions transferred to the Veterans Agency in 2002-03.
	The amount paid for each benefit in each year, in other words weekly benefit rates, are published each year in Statutory Instruments, as Social Security Benefits Up-rating Orders, which will be in the House of Commons Library and can be found on the Office for Public Sector Information website at the following addresses:
	1996: SI 559 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19960599_en_l.htm
	1997: SI 543 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1997/19970543.htm
	1998: SI 470 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1998/19980470.htm
	1999: SI 341 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/19990341.htm
	2000: SI 440 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20000440.htm
	2001: SI 207 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2001/20010207.htm
	2002: SI 668 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/20020668.htm
	2003: SI 526 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20030526.htm
	2004: SI 552 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20040552.htm
	2005: SI 522 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20050522.htm
	2006: SI 645 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20060645.htm
	2007: SI 688 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/20070688.htm
	Some other useful information about weekly benefit rates can be found on pages 50 to 74 of the 2005 edition of the Abstract of Statistics for Benefits, National Insurance Contributions, and Indices of Prices and Earnings, and on pages 101 to 191 of the 2004 edition of Work and Pensions Statistics (now discontinued) which can be located at the following internet addresses:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/abstract/Abstract2005.pdf
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/workandpens/2004/lndividual_Benefit_Statistics.pdf
	The proportion of the total paid in each year that was means-tested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Means tested proportion of total benefit paid in each year (percentage) 
			 1996-97 35.2 
			 1997-98 33.9 
			 1998-99 32.7 
			 1999-2000 31.0 
			 2000-01 29.3 
			 2001-02 29.0 
			 2002-03 29.3 
			 2003-04 31.5 
			 2004-05 31.5 
			 2005-06 30.8 
			 2006-07 31.1 
			 2007-08 30.7 
		
	
	These percentages have been calculated using information in benefit expenditure table 3.
	Full information about the cost of administering each payment in each year is not available.
	From 1999-2000 the cost of administration is accounted for separately within the departmental expenditure limit (DEL) and the information requested on administration costs at benefit level is not available.
	Information on administrative costs prior to the creation of DWP in 2001 is not comparable with administrative costs now due to considerable organisational change.
	The available information, which is at benefit level, is in the following tables:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Cash (i)  1996-97  1997-98  1998-99 
			  Contributory benefits (paid from the National Insurance Fund)   
			 Retirement Pension 303 312 314 
			 Widow's benefits 15 12 8 
			 Unemployment Benefit (ii) 95   
			 Incapacity Benefit 365 294 375 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance (contribution based) 57 63 51 
			
			  Non-contributory benefits (paid from voted money)   
			 War Pensions 42 39 32 
			 Attendance Allowance 82 76 75 
			 Disability Living Allowance 147 164 119 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 36 42 43 
			 
			 Income Support  717 581 
			 excluding the unemployed12 months 877   
			 unemployed only6 months 209   
			 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance (income based) 315 452 330 
			 Child Benefit and One Parent Benefit 133 133 125 
			 Family Credit 66 59 72 
			 Social Fund 180 161 215 
			 Invalid Care Allowance 30 27 34 
			 Housing Benefit (iii) 312 328 350 
			 Council Tax Benefit (iii) 182 180 175 
		
	
	
		
			  £ million 
			  2007-08 prices (i)  1996-97  1997-98  1998-99 
			  Contributory benefits (paid from the National Insurance Fund)   
			 Retirement Pension 396 396 389 
			 Widow's benefits 20 15 10 
			 Unemployment Benefit (ii) 124   
			 Incapacity Benefit 477 373 464 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance (contribution based) 74 80 63 
			
			  Non-contributory benefits (paid from voted money)   
			 War Pensions 55 50 40 
			 Attendance Allowance 107 97 93 
			 Disability Living Allowance 192 208 147 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 47 53 53 
			 
			 Income Support  911 720 
			 excluding the unemployed12 months 1,146   
			 unemployed only6 months 273   
			 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance (income based) 412 574 409 
			 Child Benefit and One Parent Benefit 174 169 155 
			 Family Credit 86 75 89 
			 Social Fund 235 204 266 
			 Invalid Care Allowance 39 34 42 
			 Housing Benefit (iii) 408 417 433 
			 Council Tax Benefit (iii) 238 229 217 
			  Notes:  1. Costs shown represent the total estimated costs to Government, Department of Social Security and other Departments of administering Social Security benefits.  2. Includes the cost of administering national insurance credits for clients who do not receive any social security benefit.  3. Costs quoted are local authority costs. Central Government costs are allocated to income support.  4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds.  5. The information has been taken from the 1998, 1999 and 2000 Department for Social Security departmental reports. The information requested is only available to 1998-99.  6. Figures have been converted to 2007-08 prices using GDP deflators issued by HM Treasury following the Budget report 2007.

Social Security Benefits: Disabled

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of lone parents whose youngest child is over the age of 11 years are receiving  (a) income support and  (b) incapacity benefit; and how many and what proportion of each group are (i) carers for a disabled child and (ii) have a disability themselves.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Lone parents with youngest child over 11: Great Britain 
			  Claiming  Number  Proportion of all LPs with youngest child over 11 (Percentage)   Number  Proportion (Percentage) 
			 Income support 108,950 19.1 Caring for a child with a disability 38,000 35.1 
			Report disability themselves 65,000 60.2 
			 Incapacity benefits 24,370 4.3 Caring for a child with a disability (1) (1) 
			Report disability themselves 24,370 100 
			 (1 )Family and Children's Study sample size too small to identify.   Notes: 1. Reporting a disability and caring for a disabled child are not mutually exclusive categoriesthose who are both caring for a disabled child and report a disability themselves (21.6 per cent. of those with youngest child over 11 claiming income support) will appear in both categories.  2. The income support figures do not include any claimants on incapacity benefit. However, some of those included in the incapacity benefit may also receive income support.   Source:  DWP administrative data; Family and Children's study 2004, Labour Force Survey 2006 Q2.

Social Security Benefits: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed  (a) income support,  (b) job seekers allowance,  (c) housing benefit,  (d) council tax benefit,  (e) carers allowance and  (f) incapacity benefit in each London borough in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The available information has been placed in the Library.

State Retirement Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the total volume of deficit repair contributions made in each of the last five years.

James Purnell: The PPF collects information on deficit reduction payments made by schemes in order to reduce the amount of risk-based levy they are liable to pay. As the PPF has only been in operation since April 2005, information on such deficit reduction payments is not available for each of the last five years.
	Such information as is available was published in the Purple Book (http://www.ppf.gov.uk/the_purple_book _ppf-tpr.pdf)
	"Schemes in the sample had certified approximately £9.8bn of special contributions to reduce deficits by 7 April 2006. These contributions were certified to the Pension Protection Fund for the purpose of enabling a more up-to-date assessment to be made of the scheme funding position, with the extra contributions increasing the scheme assets and so reducing the risk-based levy."
	Figures for deficit reduction payments in 2006-07 are not yet available.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Ministry of Defence Police

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the effect of the reduction in Ministry of Defence Police numbers on civilian police forces.

Tony McNulty: I have had no representations from any police force about the impact of reductions in the number of MOD police officers.
	It is a matter for discussion between the local force, police authority and the MOD police.
	I have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues at the Ministry of Defence and will discuss this issue at my next meeting.

Police: Street Patrols

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of time police officers spend patrolling the streets.

Tony McNulty: 63 per cent. of officer time was spent on frontline activities in 2005-06. 14 per cent. of officer time was spent on patrol.
	Other frontline activities not captured by the definition of patrol include arrests, dealing with incidents, gathering intelligence, responding to 999 calls, carrying out searches, dealing with informants, and interviewing suspects, victims and witnesses.

Licensing Laws

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the new licensing laws on reducing crime in  (a) West Lancashire and  (b) England and Wales.

Vernon Coaker: We are conducting a full evaluation of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on crime and disorder. This is ongoing and is due to be published towards the end of 2007. A separate monitoring exercise is looking at the impact of the Act on police recorded violent crime and criminal damage. Interim results from this exercise were published in July 2006. They show that there had been no change in the overall volume or timing of offences following the introduction of the Act. No separate arrangements have been made to monitor the impact of the Act in West Lancashire.

Police Training Days

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the cost of training days in the police work force owing to the introduction of new legislation.

Tony McNulty: The consequences of any new legislation in terms of training is generally a matter for police forces to determine, although some police training is delivered nationally through what is now the National Policing Improvement Agency.
	In terms of force costs, these will vary dependent upon the local impact of legislation, and each force making an assessment of its own training needs and requirements. It is also important to note that law based or legislative police training (except when an officer joins the police service) remains a relatively small proportion of their training needs.
	Accordingly, policing costs for new training as a result of legislation will vary from police area to area. There are therefore no estimates of the cost of police training specifically as a consequence of new legislation.

Immigration: Public Services

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of levels of immigration on public services in the last 12 months; and what forecast he has made of the likely effects in the next 12 months.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of  (a) the impact of levels of immigration on public services in the past 12 months and  (b) the likely effect in the next 12 months.

Liam Byrne: To date there has not been a formal system for assessing the impact of immigration on public services but individual Government Departments have mechanisms to receive information about overall pressures on such services. Last summer we conducted a cross-Government review of the impacts of migration. On 28 March we announced the establishment of a new forum to provide an opportunity for regular and organised dialogue with interested parties focusing on the impacts of migration. This will be chaired by Home Office and Local Government Ministers.

Rural Policing: North Yorkshire

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on rural policing in north Yorkshire.

Tony McNulty: The Government are committed to ensuring that all communities have access to, and are served by a responsive, locally accountable and citizen focused police service. The deployment of that resource is an operational matter for the chief constable.
	I am aware that the acting deputy chief constable in north Yorkshire is consulting with all chief constables and commissioners to investigate variations in working practices relating to isolated and rural communities. The hon. Member may therefore wish to speak to the force about this matter directly.

Anti-terrorism Strategy

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with officials and other Ministers on the co-ordination of anti-terrorism strategy.

John Reid: I regularly discuss the co-ordination of the Government's strategy on counter terrorism with officials and ministerial colleagues, including at a weekly security meeting which I chair.

Correspondence

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average length of time the director general of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate took to reply to hon. Members' letters in the past 12 months.

Liam Byrne: For the 12-month period up to and including December 2006 the average waiting time for responses to letters from hon. Members to the Border and Immigration Agency was 24 days in respect of correspondence on immigration matters.

Departmental Restructuring

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on departmental restructuring.

John Reid: The decision to refocus the Home Office so that it is better able to respond to the changes in the world at both a global and local level, where we have moved from static communities and a static world to a highly mobile world was one that was taken by the Prime Minister and discussed at Cabinet.

Identity Cards

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution of identity cards to the tackling of identity fraud.

Joan Ryan: Our plans for a National Identity Scheme, including the introduction of identity cards, will not only enable people to prove their identity easily, quickly and simply but will also provide a highly secure means of protecting their identity. This will have a significant impact upon identity fraud, which costs the United Kingdom economy at least £1.7 billion each year.

Identity Cards

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost has been of the identity card scheme.

Joan Ryan: Some £58 million has been spent on the identity cards scheme since the start of the 2003-04 financial year and up to the end of September 2006.

DNA Database

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the national DNA database.

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the national DNA database; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: The National DNA database is a key police intelligence tool which contributes to the efficiency of crime detection. It has a key role to play in contributing to detection outcomes, eliminating the innocent from inquiries, focusing the direction of inquiries resulting in savings in police time and in building public confidence that elusive offenders may be detected and brought to justice.

Violent Crime

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of measures to combat violent crime.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are taking forward a full range of work to tackle violent crime. This has included: introducing new legislation; providing intensive support to practitioners in those areas which face the biggest challenges in terms of violent crime; and developing a range of measures to reduce sexual and domestic violence re-offending.
	We consider that a 34 per cent. fall in BCS violent crime since 1997 is testament to the effectiveness of these measures, and we will continue to focus our efforts to bring down the level of these serious crimes even further.

Antisocial Behaviour

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to hold another Antisocial Behaviour Day Count.

Tony McNulty: There are no current plans to hold another national Antisocial Behaviour Day Count.
	Since the 2003 day count, a number of new ways of measuring performance have been introduced. The focus is now on the perception of antisocial behaviour rather than specific incident counting, which is subject to severe under-reporting. As such these measures supersede the need for a specific one day antisocial behaviour incident count.
	The perception of antisocial behaviour is monitored nationally through the British Crime Survey (BCS) and at a local level through the Local Government User Satisfaction Survey (LGUSS). In addition a survey of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) is conducted on a quarterly basis to monitor, at a local level, the uptake and use of a number of tools and powers used to tackle antisocial behaviour, such as acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs), demotion orders and housing injunctions.

Crime: Macclesfield

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recorded crime figures for the Macclesfield borough in the Cheshire Constabulary East Division were in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07 according to the classifications (i) all crime, (ii) burglary of a dwelling, (iii) violent crime, (iv) vehicle crime and (v) criminal damage; and what assessment he has made of the trends in these statistics.

Vernon Coaker: The statistics are not available in the form requested as data for 2006-07 will not be available until 19 July 2007. Statistics for 2005-06 are in the following table together with the percentage change from the previous year.
	
		
			  Offences recorded in the Macclesfield crime and disorder reduction partnership area 
			   2005-06  Percentage change from previous year 
			 Total crime 11,719 1.4 
			 Burglary in a dwelling 679 -6.7 
			 Violent crime 2,319 16.6 
			 Vehicle crime 1,750 14.5 
			 Criminal damage 2,692 -8.2

Electronic Tags

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders reoffended whilst wearing electronic tags in each year since their introduction; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table sets out the number of offenders, who have been cautioned, convicted or are awaiting prosecution for offences while they were subject to the home detention curfew scheme, as currently notified to the National Offender Management Service.
	The totals for 2005-06 have been updated following a cross-checking of reoffending data from the Police National Computer for the third and fourth quarters of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006.
	Some of those awaiting prosecution will be found not guilty or charges will be dropped.
	Information is not collected on further convictions for offenders subject to other electronic monitoring schemes apart from home detention curfew.
	
		
			  Number of offenders cautioned, convicted or awaiting prosecution for an offence committed while they were subject to the home detention curfew scheme 
			   Number 
			 1999 71 
			 1999-2000 294 
			 2000-01 244 
			 2001-02 208 
			 2002-03 584 
			 2003-04 1,298 
			 2004-05 1,311 
			 2005-06 1,214

Extradition

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria his Department uses in assessing extradition requests from other countries.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 18 April 2007
	 The requirements for extradition requests are set out in the Extradition Act 2003. Extradition requests from EU member states are assessed wholly by the courts using criteria set out in Part one of the Act.
	Extradition requests from other parts of the world are considered in part by the courts using criteria set out in Part two of the Act. The Secretary of States role in considering extradition requests is limited to requests made under Part two of the Act; and in those requests, he must decide whether he is prohibited from ordering a persons extradition under criteria set out at sections 94-96 of the Act. These relate to the death penalty, speciality and possible earlier extradition from a third country.

Fixed Penalties

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many penalty notices for disorder were issued for  (a) theft,  (b) criminal damage,  (c) being drunk and disorderly and  (d) dropping litter in each month since November 2004.

Vernon Coaker: Penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) rolled-out to all police forces in England and Wales under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. Under the scheme, the police can issue a fixed penalty of £50 or £80 for a specified range of disorder offences including shop theft (under £200) and criminal damage (under £500).
	Data on the number of PNDs (penalty notice for disorder) issued for the specified offence for each month since November 2004 are provided in the following tables. The data for 2006 are provisional. Finalised data for 2006 will be available this summer.
	The figures show that the PND has been an increasingly useful disposal option for the police in tackling low-level antisocial behaviour, providing them with a simple, non-bureaucratic financial punishment for first-time offenders.
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder issued to persons aged 16 and over for selected offences by month, November 2004 to December 2006( 1,2) 
			  Offence   Total  Jan uary  Feb ruary  Mar ch  Apr il  May  Jun e 
			 Drunk and disorderly 2004 6,154       
			  2005 37,038 2,842 2,732 2,779 2,860 2,927 2,551 
			  2006(1) 42,308 3,101 3,090 3,073 3,696 3,515 3,503 
			  
			 Criminal Damage (under £500) 2004 1,103       
			  2005 12,168 813 754 786 906 982 990 
			  2006(1) 19,654 1,505 1,377 1,312 1,562 1,584 1,710 
			  
			 Theft (retail under £200) 2004 2,018       
			  2005 21,997 1,286 1,309 1,603 1,806 1,822 1,728 
			  2006(1) 37,463 2,608 2,655 2,983 2,843 2,957 2,999 
			  
			 Depositing and leaving litter 2004 49       
			  2005 737 32 47 56 54 75 73 
			  2006(1) 1,125 77 89 69 109 118 124 
		
	
	
		
			  Offence   Ju ly  Aug ust  Sep tember  Oct ober  Nov ember  December 
			 Drunk and disorderly 2004     2,504 3,650 
			  2005 3,092 2,969 2,822 3,400 3,296 4,768 
			  2006(1) 3,481 3,441 3,545 3,753 3,304 4,806 
			 
			 Criminal Damage (under £500) 2004     452 651 
			  2005 1,158 1,158 1,052 1,193 1,093 1,283 
			  2006(1) 1,746 1,919 1,806 1,778 1,579 1,776 
			 
			 Theft (retail under £200) 2004     872 1,146 
			  2005 1,700 1,746 2,005 2,048 2,432 2,512 
			  2006(1) 2,722 3,148 3,346 3,498 3,873 3,831 
			 
			 Depositing and leaving litter 2004     19 30 
			  2005 60 53 63 71 66 87 
			  2006(1) 87 77 108 104 87 76 
			 (1) Data on PNDs issued in 2006 are unpublished and provisional (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Homicide: Greater London

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded murders there were in each London borough in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of those recorded murders led to a conviction in each year, broken down by borough.

Vernon Coaker: The statistics are not available in the form requested. The recorded crime statistics relate to homicide offences and convictions data relates to offenders. In addition, recorded crime data are published on a financial year basis and conviction data are published on a calendar year basis. For these reasons, the two data sources are therefore not directly comparable.
	Figures for the number of offences recorded and the number of convictions are in the following tables. Recorded crime data at borough level are only available from 2000-01.
	
		
			  Table 1: Recorded offences of homicide by London borough2000-01 to 2005-06 
			  Borough  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4 2 3 4 8 4 
			 Barnet 8 4 5 2 5 4 
			 Bexley 3 2 2 0 2 3 
			 Brent 6 12 6 10 18 10 
			 Bromley 7 3 4 2 3 2 
			 Camden 7 10 16 1 8 22 
			 City of Westminster 8 8 9 6 5 8 
			 Croydon 3 7 6 12 10 10 
			 Ealing 8 9 9 6 8 8 
			 Enfield 2 6 6 6 12 6 
			 Greenwich 4 5 4 12 8 5 
			 Hackney 14 14 6 20 9 7 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 6 10 6 4 4 2 
			 Haringey 9 7 17 12 10 5 
			 Harrow 3 3 0 3 0 2 
			 Havering 5 3 1 6 0 2 
			 Hillingdon 2 2 5 6 2 3 
			 Hounslow 5 6 2 7 6 5 
			 Islington 11 9 3 5 7 2 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4 3 3 1 9 4 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1 3 0 1 2 2 
			 Lambeth 13 17 15 12 10 7 
			 Lewisham 6 7 5 9 5 9 
			 Merton 3 2 3 2 0 3 
			 Newham 11 7 14 15 10 13 
			 Redbridge 5 3 5 8 4 6 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2 0 2 3 3 2 
			 Southwark 15 11 11 13 9 7 
			 Sutton 3 2 3 1 1 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 4 9 11 11 8 0 
			 Waltham Forest 4 5 7 9 5 7 
			 Wandsworth 3 11 6 2 4 5 
			 Total 189 202 195 211 195 175 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty at all courts of homicide, broken down by London court area, 1996 to 2005( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3) 
			  London court Area  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 City of London
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			  Inner London Courts
			 Bow Street 2 1 4 3 5 8 3 3 3 5 4 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 8 14 5 10 7 10 12 15 13 16 16 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 2 4 10 14 5 7 3 9 8 6 11 
			 Highbury Corner 15 16 14 22 13 7 13 8 7 9 6 
			 Horseferry Road 2 3 3 3 2 4 1 6 2 6 9 
			 Marylebone 4 3 4 1 3 5      
			 South Western  2 2 1 8 6 3 4 4  4 
			 Thames 2  1 1 5 11 12 7 7 15 13 
			 West London 2 2 6 4 4 4 2 6 8 2 10 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts 1 6 1         
			 Total - Inner London 38 51 50 59 52 62 49 58 52 59 73 
			 
			  Outer London Boroughs
			 Barking and Dagenham    6 1  6 3 4 1 1 
			 Barnet 1 1  3 4 1 2 6 7 3 4 
			 Bexley    1 1 1  2 1  4 
			 Brent 6 4 4 4 1 15 7 6 7 11 8 
			 Bromley 2 2  1 3  1 4 1 2  
			 Croydon 3 1 1 1  1 2 8 4 9 6 
			 Ealing 3 3 3 4 2 8 5 3 4 5 6 
			 Enfield 3  4 1 5 4 3 7 4 9 9 
			 Haringey 5 3 3 4 3 2 11 5 7 7 4 
			 Harrow  1  2 1 2 1   2  
			 Havering 1  2  1 2 3   4  
			 Hillingdon 3 2 5 2 1  1 1 2 8 2 
			 Hounslow 2  3 7 6 7 1 1 3 1 7 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 4  1  2 1  4  4 1 
			 Merton 4 2 2 1 1 2 6  1 4 1 
			 Newham 2 3 2 5 6 4 4 8 3 11 12 
			 Redbridge 2 1 - 1 2 - 1 - 3 3 9 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1  2 3 1 1 1  1   
			 Sutton    1   1 1 2 3  
			 Waltham Forest 3 3 1 5  1 7 3 4 4 3 
			 Total - Outer London 45 26 33 52 41 52 63 62 58 91 77 
			 
			 Total 83 77 83 111 93 114 112 120 110 151 150 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The data covers: murder, manslaughter and infanticideprovided to be consistent with recorded crime data provided for this PQ.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform  Ref IOS 210-07.

Ministerial Meetings

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Ministers or officials from his Department last met the chairs of local police committees.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary (John Reid) and I met with chairs of police authorities and with chief constables most recently at a seminar on police reform on 2 November 2006. I also attended the conference of the Association of Police Authorities, at which many chairs of police authorities were present, on 30 November 2006. I meet the APA on regular occasions and meet the chairs of local committees throughout the year in line with my duties as Police Minister.

Norwich Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the health and safety of prisoners being held in A wing at HMP Norwich; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels at HMP Norwich; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: HMP/YOI Norwich has risk assessments and safe systems of work in place for all areas of the prison and for all activities. Part of A wing reopened in late January 2007 following up-to-date Health and Safety risk assessments and safe systems of work been put in place. Prior to occupation having the cells were inspected personally by the Governor and confirmed as being appropriate and suitable cellular accommodation by the Eastern Area Manager. The remaining poor repair cellular accommodation in A wing is not occupied. Safe staffing levels have been agreed for the operation of the prison and for the daily operation of the reopened A wing facility four additional staff have been added to the complement.

Passports: Lost Property

Nigel Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of passports dispatched by courier did not arrive at their destination in the last period for which the figures are available; what those figures were in the last comparable period prior to the contract being awarded to couriers; if he will ensure that security of delivery is the paramount consideration in re-awarding the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: For the 12 month period ending January 2007, 728 passports have been confirmed as lost while in the delivery process. This equates to 0.011 per cent. of passports delivered. Secure Delivery commenced in February 2004, and the last period of data available for the previous Royal Mail arrangements is for 2003. In that year, 3,593 passports were recorded as lost in the delivery process, which equates to 0.065 per cent.
	Secure Delivery has therefore seen a reduction of over 80 per cent. in the number of passports lost in this way.
	Security of delivery is the paramount consideration in the current arrangements, and all deliveries can be tracked from collection to the point of delivery. The new contract will balance the need to provide a secure delivery service with the need to provide value for money and high levels of customer service.

Police Custody

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2007, Official Report, column 1227W, on police custody, on how many occasions Operation Safeguard was used in England and Wales between 1 January 2006 and 1 April 2007.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Operation Safeguard was reactivated on 22 January 2007. Between 22 January and 30 March 2007, Operation Safeguard was used on 9,380 occasions. This does not correspond precisely to a number of prisoners: one occasion means one prisoner night in a police cell.
	[Official Report, 20 February 2008, Vol. 472, c. 6MC.]

Police: Broadcasting Programmes

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether police forces in England and Wales charge television companies for video footage used in television programmes.

Tony McNulty: Charging the media for police-held video material is a matter for decision by individual chief officers. The Association of Chief Police Officers have produced guidance notes on this subject entitled “Media Advisory Group Guidelines Parts 1-11”.

Police: Cheshire

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers were recruited in Cheshire in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The available data, for 2002-03 onwards, is in the following tables.
	
		
			 Police officer recruits(1) to Cheshire police from 2002-03 to 2005-06(2) (FTE)(3) 
			  Cheshire 
			 2002-03 141 
			 2003-04 153 
			 2004-05 105 
			 2005-06 121 
			 (1) Recruits included those officers joining as standard direct recruits and those who were previously special constables. This excludes police officers on transfers from other forces and those rejoining. (2) Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. Data are not available prior to 2002-03. (3) Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. 
		
	
	
		
			 Police community support officer recruits(1) to Cheshire police from 2002-03 to 2005-06(2) (FTE)(3) 
			  Cheshire 
			 2002-03 2 
			 2003-04 26 
			 2004-05 12 
			 2005-06 14 
			 (1) Recruits included those officers joining as standard direct recruits and those who were previously special constables. This excludes police community support officers on transfers from other forces and those rejoining. (2) Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. Data are not available prior to 2002-03. (3) Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.

Police: County Durham

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were transferred from non-operational duties to front line operations in the community in County Durham in each year since 2002; and how many civilian staff filled these non-operational posts.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally. The deployment of police officers and police staff is an operational matter for individual chief constables.

Police: Bullying

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported incidents of bullying there were in police forces in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Police: Manpower

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many former police officers rejoined the police force in England and Wales in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Tony McNulty: The available data are from 2002-03 onwards and are in the following table.
	
		
			 Police officer retainers (FTE)(1) by force from 2002-03 to 2005-06(2) 
			  2002-03 2003-04(3) 2004-05 2005-06 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 0 0 0 
			 Bedfordshire 5 2 0 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 8 9 8 5 
			 Cheshire 2 1 2 0 
			 Cleveland 1 0 1 2 
			 Cumbria 4 1 0 1 
			 Derbyshire 19 0 13 20 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6 0 1 11 
			 Dorset 0 1 1 7 
			 Durham 0 2 0 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 n/a 0 3 
			 Essex 9 30 4 7 
			 Gloucestershire 4 0 0 5 
			 Greater Manchester 0 17 35 29 
			 Gwent 0 1 13 17 
			 Hampshire 6 3 19 14 
			 Hertfordshire 5 4 2 1 
			 Humberside 6 3 3 32 
			 Kent 1 10 7 15 
			 Lancashire 5 1 1 0 
			 Leicestershire 5 2 10 11 
			 Lincolnshire 5 1 2 4 
			 London, City of 1 2 2 1 
			 Merseyside 0 0 1 0 
			 Metropolitan Police 46 69 113 100 
			 Norfolk 8 0 0 5 
			 Northamptonshire 1 0 0 1 
			 Northumbria 0 8 1 10 
			 North Wales 0 0 1 8 
			 North Yorkshire 1 n/a 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 1 1 20 
			 South Wales 22 4 0 32 
			 South Yorkshire 0 6 11 18 
			 Staffordshire 7 13 15 2 
			 Suffolk 1 0 0 10 
			 Surrey 9 4 4 8 
			 Sussex 4 8 2 11 
			 Thames Valley 8 7 18 18 
			 Warwickshire 1 4 1 3 
			 West Mercia 2 3 14 11 
			 West Midlands 23 15 13 9 
			 West Yorkshire 4 3 9 17 
			 Wiltshire 2 5 1 3 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. (3) Data are not available for Dyfed-Powys and North Yorkshire.

Police: Parental Leave

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers took  (a) maternity leave,  (b) paternity leave and  (c) a career break in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The available data is in the table; they are from the 2002-03 financial year onwards and relate to long-term absences as at the end of each financial year.
	
		
			  Police officers (FTE)( 1)  on long-term absence as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2006( 2) 
			  As at 31 March each year  Maternity leave  Paternity leave  Career break 
			 2003(3) 291 7 626 
			 2004 642 27 750 
			 2005(4) 617 41 867 
			 2006 713 31 1,124 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding these figures may not match published totals. (2 )Data are available from 2002-03 onwards. (3 )Data are not available for Dyfed-Powys, Nottinghamshire, Sussex and West Midlands. (4 )Data are not available for North Wales.

Police: Telephone Services

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police authorities did not meet the target time for handling calls from the public under the National Call Handling Standards for  (a) urgent and  (b) non-urgent calls in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 12 February 2007
	The target times for answering emergency and non-emergency calls under the National Call Handling Standards is not yet collated nationally, as NCHS has not been fully implemented in all forces.
	The HMIC Baseline Assessment in 2006 examined implementation of NCHS and its relationship with the Quality of Service Agreement under 1C Customer Service and Accessibility. The HMICs 2007-08 assessment regime will also address this area of work.

Prisoners Release: Acquittals

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial and other assistance is available to those who are released from prison having been on remand and are found to be innocent.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Remand prisoners are eligible for all induction and resettlement programmes within the prisons and are able to access practical support to effectively help them re-integrate back into the community.
	Currently there is no financial scheme that covers such prisoners. However, remand prisoners are entitled to travel warrants and in some cases to housing benefit and council tax benefit and mortgage interest for a limited time.

Prisoners: Compensation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims for compensation were made by prisoners at each of Her Majestys Prisons and Young Offender Institutions in each year between 1997 and 2007; on what basis each claim was made; how many of these claims were settled out of court; how many were otherwise successful; what the total sum was of compensation paid; and what action was taken by the prison authorities in each case to prevent similar claims in the future.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Foreigners

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign prisoners there were in prisons in England and Wales on 31 March, broken down by country of origin.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information as at the end of February 2007 on the numbers of prisoners by recorded nationality in all prison establishments in England and Wales is given in the following table. This is the latest date for which the information is currently available.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Prison population in prison establishments in England and Wales showing all nationalities, February 2007 
			   Number 
			 Total Prison population 79,581 
			 Unrecorded 879 
			 Total other less than 50 
			 Aruba less than 50 
			 United Arab Emirates less than 50 
			 Afghanistan 96 
			 Anguilla less than 50 
			 Albania 135 
			 Armenia less than 50 
			 Netherlands Antilles less than 50 
			 Angola 90 
			 Argentina less than 50 
			 Austria less than 50 
			 Australia less than 50 
			 Azerbaijan less than 50 
			 Bosnia-Herzegovina less than 50 
			 Barbados less than 50 
			 Bangladesh 171 
			 Belgium less than 50 
			 Bulgaria less than 50 
			 Bahrain less than 50 
			 Burundi less than 50 
			 Dahomey (Benin) less than 50 
			 Bermuda less than 50 
			 Bolivia less than 50 
			 Brazil 83 
			 Bahamas less than 50 
			 Burma less than 50 
			 Botswana less than 50 
			 Belize less than 50 
			 Canada less than 50 
			 Croatia less than 50 
			 Ivory Coast less than 50 
			 Central African Republic less than 50 
			 Congo 112 
			 Switzerland less than 50 
			 Chile less than 50 
			 Cameroon, United Republic less than 50 
			 China 279 
			 Columbia 119 
			 Costa Rica less than 50 
			 Czech Republic less than 50 
			 Cuba less than 50 
			 Cape Verde less than 50 
			 Cyprus 57 
			 Germany 143 
			 Denmark less than 50 
			 Dominica less than 50 
			 Dominican Republic less than 50 
			 Algeria 198 
			 Estonia less than 50 
			 Ecuador less than 50 
			 Egypt less than 50 
			 Spain 74 
			 Ethiopia 53 
			 French Guyana less than 50 
			 Finland less than 50 
			 Fiji less than 50 
			 France 162 
			 French Southern Territories less than 50 
			 Grenada less than 50 
			 Georgia less than 50 
			 Ghana 211 
			 Gibraltar less than 50 
			 Gambia less than 50 
			 Guinea less than 50 
			 Equatorial Guinea less than 50 
			 Greece less than 50 
			 Guatemala less than 50 
			 Guinea/Bissau less than 50 
			 Guyana less than 50 
			 Hong Kong less than 50 
			 Honduras less than 50 
			 Haiti less than 50 
			 Hungary less than 50 
			 Iran 205 
			 Indonesia less than 50 
			 Israel less than 50 
			 India 306 
			 Iraq 288 
			 Irish Republic 666 
			 Italy 113 
			 Jamaica 1,490 
			 Jordan less than 50 
			 Kazakhstan less than 50 
			 Kenya 60 
			 Kiribati less than 50 
			 Kyrgystan less than 50 
			 Korea Republic of (Sth) less than 50 
			 Kuwait less than 50 
			 Lebanon less than 50 
			 St. Lucia less than 50 
			 Sri Lanka 167 
			 Lithuania 188 
			 Liberia less than 50 
			 Latvia less than 50 
			 Libya less than 50 
			 Morocco less than 50 
			 Moldova less than 50 
			 Macedonia less than 50 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 92 
			 Mali less than 50 
			 Mongolia less than 50 
			 Mauritania less than 50 
			 Montserrat less than 50 
			 Malta less than 50 
			 Mauritius less than 50 
			 Malawi less than 50 
			 Mexico less than 50 
			 Malaysia less than 50 
			 Mozambique less than 50 
			 Namibia less than 50 
			 Niger less than 50 
			 Nigeria 1,070 
			 Netherlands 147 
			 Norway less than 50 
			 New Zealand less than 50 
			 Oman less than 50 
			 Panama less than 50 
			 Peru less than 50 
			 Papua New Guinea less than 50 
			 Philippines less than 50 
			 Pakistan 444 
			 Poland 290 
			 Portugal 193 
			 Paraguay less than 50 
			 Qatar less than 50 
			 Romania 144 
			 Rwanda less than 50 
			 Saudi Arabia less than 50 
			 Seychelles less than 50 
			 Sudan less than 50 
			 Sweden less than 50 
			 Slovakia less than 50 
			 Singapore less than 50 
			 St. Christopher and Nevis less than 50 
			 Sierre Leone 82 
			 Senegal less than 50 
			 Somalia 348 
			 Slovenia less than 50 
			 Surinam less than 50 
			 Russia 116 
			 El Salvador less than 50 
			 St Kitts and Nevis less than 50 
			 Syrian Arab Republic less than 50 
			 Swaziland less than 50 
			 Chad less than 50 
			 Togo less than 50 
			 Thailand less than 50 
			 Tunisia less than 50 
			 East Timor (Portuguese) less than 50 
			 Turkey 228 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 97 
			 Tanzania less than 50 
			 Uganda 86 
			 United Kingdom 67,459 
			 United States of America 99 
			 Uzbekistan less than 50 
			 St. Vincent ad The Grenadines less than 50 
			 Venezuela less than 50 
			 Vietnam 381 
			 Western Sahara less than 50 
			 Yemen, Republic of less than 50 
			 South Africa 201 
			 Zambia less than 50 
			 Congo, Democratic Republic less than 50 
			 Zimbabwe 189 
			  Note: For reasons of confidentiality and data integrity numbers under 50 are not shown.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 546-7W, on prisons, when he expects to make publicly available the results of the trial of the body orifice scanner in the high security prison.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are no plans to make public the results of this trial. It would not be in the public interest to publicise details of Prison Service security mechanisms.

Prisons: Childbirth

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women gave birth while serving a prison sentence in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service has only routinely kept this information centrally since April 2005. Figures prior to this date are not available.
	The following figures show, for the last two years, the numbers of women who gave birth while serving the custodial part of a sentence of imprisonment:
	1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006: 106
	1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007: 98

Prisons: Rural Areas

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has assessed the merits of providing short-term temporary cells in rural areas.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 27 April 2007
	The National Offender Management Service has investigated a wide range of potential temporary accommodation to increase capacity. Part of the 8,000 place capacity-building programme includes ready built modular accommodation which has an expected life span of 10 to 25 years. The early stages of the programme are using land on existing prison sites. Some of these are in rural areas.

Rape: Greater London

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded rapes there were in each London borough in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of those recorded rapes led to a conviction in each year, broken down by borough.

Vernon Coaker: The statistics are not available in the form requested. Recorded rape statistics relate to offences and convictions data relate to offenders. In addition, recorded crime data are published on a financial year basis and conviction data are published on a calendar year basis. For these reasons, the two data sources are not directly comparable.
	Figures for the number of offences recorded and the number of convictions are provided in the following tables. Recorded crime data at borough level are available only from 2000-01.
	
		
			  Table 1: Recorded offences of rape by London borough 2000-01 and 2001-02 
			  Borough  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Barking and Dagenham 48 53 
			 Barnet 48 62 
			 Bexley 32 53 
			 Brent 119 105 
			 Bromley 48 62 
			 Camden 91 96 
			 City of Westminster 114 112 
			 Croydon 102 109 
			 Ealing 98 93 
			 Enfield 58 76 
			 Greenwich 80 94 
			 Hackney 103 108 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 66 57 
			 Haringey 95 118 
			 Harrow 34 38 
			 Havering 19 35 
			 Hillingdon 31 55 
			 Hounslow 48 71 
			 Islington 72 109 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 34 32 
			 Kingston upon Thames 27 37 
			 Lambeth 163 172 
			 Lewisham 105 115 
			 Merton 19 38 
			 Newham 115 93 
			 Redbridge 38 63 
			 Richmond upon Thames 28 24 
			 Southwark 115 129 
			 Sutton 20 22 
			 Tower Hamlets 78 76 
			 Waltham Forest 74 85 
			 Wandsworth 65 97 
			 Total 2,187 2,489 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 : Recorded offences of rape by London borough 200 2-03  to 2005-06 
			  Borough  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 70 56 74 66 
			 Barnet 60 84 84 70 
			 Bexley 43 31 48 36 
			 Brent 87 129 99 97 
			 Bromley 70 47 57 54 
			 Camden 71 52 68 67 
			 City of Westminster 131 119 113 102 
			 Croydon 99 72 90 113 
			 Ealing 107 96 77 101 
			 Enfield 91 83 74 72 
			 Greenwich 119 116 99 120 
			 Hackney 101 118 132 136 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 74 96 63 56 
			 Haringey 113 91 99 110 
			 Harrow 29 45 50 37 
			 Havering 32 51 30 49 
			 Hillingdon 57 58 52 45 
			 Hounslow 70 65 75 71 
			 Islington 135 97 93 76 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 43 42 36 42 
			 Kingston upon Thames 50 45 37 42 
			 Lambeth 166 126 146 139 
			 Lewisham 150 132 96 85 
			 Merton 44 39 45 39 
			 Newham 152 142 151 112 
			 Redbridge 69 54 72 46 
			 Richmond upon Thames 22 14 22 20 
			 Southwark 141 163 126 126 
			 Sutton 30 27 31 39 
			 Tower Hamlets 105 96 85 85 
			 Waltham Forest 87 87 55 84 
			 Wandsworth 109 96 64 61 
			 Total 2,727 2,569 2,443 2,398 
			  Note:  The National Crime Recording standard was introduced in April 2002. Figures for earlier years are therefore not directly comparable. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Number of defendants found guilty at all courts of rape, broken down by London Court Area, 1996 to 2005( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3) 
			   1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  City of London   
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms       1    
			
			  Inner London Courts   
			 Bow Street  1 3 1 4 1 2 1 3  
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 16 8 7 15 12 11 11 16 12 14 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 4 4 8 6 8 10 10 11 13 7 
			 Highbury Corner 11 8 9 3 7 5 5 9 19 10 
			 Horseferry Road 5 2 3 2 4 3 2 5 1 3 
			 Marylebone 1 2 3 2 3 3     
			 South western 3 6 1 3 1 6 4 5 3 4 
			 Thames  2 2 7 7 10 8 3 5 11 
			 West London 1 5 2 1 4 4 5 7 4 7 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts  9 3        
			 TotalInner London 41 46 38 39 46 52 45 56 57 56 
			
			  Outer London   
			 Barking and Dagenham 1 1 2 1 2 2 5 2 8 2 
			 Barnet 1 3 3 4 1 4 3 4 2 1 
			 Bexley 3  3   2 2 2 1 4 
			 Brent 3 5 5 2 6 2 6 1 2 9 
			 Bromley 2  2    2 2 1 5 
			 Croydon 5 2 3 6  4 7 5 6 8 
			 Ealing 3 6 7 6 4 3 2 2 6  
			 Enfield 1 3 2 1 1 4 1 10 4 2 
			 Haringey 6 1 5 7 5 3 5 6 3 5 
			 Harrow 2 1 3  3 1 3 2 1 2 
			 Havering  1 1 1     2 1 
			 Hillingdon  2 2  3  1 4 2 1 
			 Hounslow 5 1  1 1  2 3 4 7 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames   1  1 1 4 1 2 3 
			 Merton 1    2  3 2 1 2 
			 Newham 6 7 5  4 1 8 15 2 4 
			 Redbridge 1 3 3  3  4 1 2  
			 Richmond upon Thames 2  1  1  3 1 2 2 
			 Sutton  1 4      2 2 
			 Waltham Forest 4 4 2 2 5 4 5 5 7 3 
			 TotalOuter London 46 41 54 31 42 31 66 68 60 63 
			
			 Total 87 87 92 70 88 83 112 124 117 119 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) Rape includes rape of a female and rape of a male.

Sentencing

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what extra resources and planning were made for the introduction of indeterminate public protection sentences; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Criminal Justice Act 2003 created new indeterminate public protection sentences aimed specifically at sexual and violent offenders. This was part of an overall rebalancing of the system to maximise public protection:
	the Government believe serious and dangerous offenders should be kept in prison for as long as is necessary to protect the public;
	other offenders should normally be punished in the community.
	No additional resources were allocated specifically for IPP but correctional services budgets take into account the overall work load demanded of them, including all the measures in the 2003 Act.

Terrorism

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to introduce new terrorism legislation to Parliament this Session; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Yes, we will let Parliament know when as soon as possible.

World War II: Education

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent in supporting education on the Holocaust in  (a) schools and  (b) the community in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	Data on expenditure by schools to support education on the Holocaust are not collected centrally. However a grant of £3 million, administered by the Department, has been made to subsidise the Holocaust Educational Trusts Lessons from Auschwitz programme between April 2006 and March 2008. The programme aims to achieve the participation of two post-16 students from every school and Sixth form college in visits to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Other Departments also fund activities relating to Holocaust education.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Biofuels

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the carbon savings resulting from the growing of biofuels on land which had previously been  (a) used to grow food crops and  (b) set aside or unused; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government have funded a number of studies to consider environmental impacts and benefits of biofuels, including Life Cycle Assessments. Carbon savings vary depending on a number of factors including the crop used and the way it is cultivated, previous land use, the transport used and the processing and conversion process.
	A DEFRA-funded project is currently under way to develop a software tool to address the main environmental issues associated with bio-energy technologies. This will include a quantitative assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings by using a land use reference system which includes set-aside and food cropland. The tool will be available later this year.
	The Government are also developing a comprehensive carbon and sustainability reporting scheme under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. This will require suppliers wishing to claim credits for their biofuels to provide information on the GHG saving and wider sustainability characteristics of those fuels. The GHG calculation methodology includes previous land use in addition to emissions from cultivation, transportation and processing and conversion.

Cattle: Disease Control

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animals were slaughtered under the cull of animals owned by Mr. Davis Dobbin of Backford, Chester, broken down by  (a) sex and  (b) age group; what the cost was of the cull for his Department; how many animals appeared not to be correctly identified; and how many appeared to have irregularities in their passports.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 26 April 2007
	I cannot comment on this case as there are criminal proceedings pending.

Departments: Smith Institute

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times he has  (a) spoken at and  (b) attended meetings at the Smith Institute in an official capacity; and how many of those occasions were in the last 12 months in each case.

Barry Gardiner: In the last 12 months, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (David Miliband) has visited the Smith Institute in an official capacity on 17 October 2006 and 7 February 2007.

Domestic Wastes: Norfolk

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 77-80W, on domestic waste, on what basis the borough council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk was included in the list.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 27 April 2007
	 In a recent survey commissioned by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the response received from Kings Lynn and West Norfolk borough council indicated that the council operates an alternate week refuse and recycling service.
	However, on clarification, it appears the council misunderstood the use of the terms alternate weekly collection.
	WRAP are currently reviewing their list of authorities providing an alternate weekly collection service and will be publishing an amended version shortly.

Fishing Vessels

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what share of total UK fishing quotas he allocated to the under-10 metre fleet in  (a) the UK and  (b) England in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2006, 2 per cent. of the UKs opening quota was allocated to the 10 metre and under fleet. However, such an analysis is misleading because the total UK quota includes quota for stocks which are of no interest to inshore vessels, such as deep sea species and stocks fished in external waters. In addition, many of these vessels catch types of fish, such as crabs and scallops, which are not subject to quotas.
	Fishing opportunities for the 10 metre and under fleet are boosted by Fishing Administrations acquiring additional quota in-year for their use.
	Results for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Fishing Vessels

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many over-10 metre vessels from  (a) producer organisations and  (b) the non-sector have moved into the under-10 metre fleet in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: An over 10 metre vessel cannot join the 10 metre and under fleet. However, owners of over 10 metre vessels are able to sell their quota and licence and acquire a licence in the 10 metre and under fleet. Central data systems record all changes in ownership as a result of a sale or an agreed transfer. While these systems record details of the owners of vessels and licences, they are not designed to allow the details of the vessels and licences held by any individual owner to be tracked over time. As such, information on the movement of owners from over 10 metre vessels to 10 metre and under vessels could be produced only at a disproportionate cost.

Flood Control: EC Grants and Loans

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the implication of the new funding arrangements for the European Rural Development Fund on  (a) flood defences overall,  (b) the Thirsk Flood Alleviation Scheme and  (c) coastal flood defences in Filey.

Ian Pearson: Flood defence expenditure is generally not covered by the Rural Development Programme for England. Funding for flood defence is a matter for the Environment Agency (EA).
	The Rural Development Programme for England provides funding to safeguard and enhance our rural environment and to foster competitive and sustainable businesses and thriving rural communities. There is some limited funding available under the Environmental Stewardship Scheme for the creation of wildlife habitats which may also have flood risk management benefits.
	It is not possible for the EA to apply for funding from this programme to fund flood defence works at Thirsk and Filey.

Food: Waste Disposal

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to decide on whether to prosecute Bernard Matthews for lapses of bio-security concerning the storage of food waste.

Ben Bradshaw: A Food Standards Agency investigation examined the possibility that food waste at the Bernard Matthews cutting plant at Holton may have been stored inappropriately.
	The investigation concluded there was no evidence of any offences under the Animal By-Products Regulations 2005, for which DEFRA is the enforcement authority.
	The Food Standards Agency also considered whether there was sufficient evidence to justify a prosecution under the Animal By-Products (Identification) Regulations 1995 or the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006, for which the agency is the enforcement authority. The agency concluded there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and decided not to proceed to a prosecution in this case.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when his Department plans to complete its review of the Warm Front grant maxima for England;
	(2)  when the latest Warm Front price review undertaken by White, Young and Green is expected to be published.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 27 April 200 7
	 These reviews are still continuing, and I expect to make further statements by the end of June.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many households in each parliamentary constituency were assisted through the Warm Front scheme in each year since the scheme was introduced.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 27 April 2007
	 Since its launch in June 2000, the Warm Front scheme has assisted over 1.2 million households in fuel poverty in England, mainly through energy efficiency measures, including loft and cavity wall insulation.
	Data on the number of households assisted in each constituency in each year since the start of the scheme could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, MPs can now access a personal micro site on the Eaga Group website that will update them on work undertaken in their area. The website also provides other information and resources to help MPs to raise awareness of the Warm Front scheme in their constituencies.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many zero carbon homes he expects to be built in each year for which his Department has made such an estimate.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do not collect this information centrally, but are aware of a small number of low and zero carbon homes currently built. The Code for Sustainable Homes and the draft Planning Policy Statement on Climate Change are designed to cut carbon emissions from new homes and promote low and zero carbon homes in the period up to 2016, when the Government have proposed that all new homes will be zero carbon. We would therefore expect an increasing proportion of new housing built over the next 10 years to be zero carbon, but no exact estimates have been made.

Lighting

Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider exempting people with light sensitivity conditions from proposals to phase out the sale of incandescent light bulbs.

Ian Pearson: The Government are exploring how various groups may be affected by the phasing out of inefficient lightbulbs. It is important that any unintended impacts are mitigated.

Plastics: Packaging

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of plastic bag use in supermarkets.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency is carrying out a study of the environmental impacts of a range of carrier bags, including disposable plastic carrier bags and bio-degradable alternatives. The study will look at their entire life-cycle from raw material extraction through to product manufacture. To date, the evidence suggests there would be no benefit in reducing the number of plastic bags in use if this encourages the use of alternative packaging or materials which are even more environmentally damaging.
	The National Non-Food Crops Centre has also started work on Life Cycle Analysis comparisons of plastic, oxodegradable and biodegradable bags. The centre has established a Thematic Working Group on Biopolymers, which aims to promote and encourage the expansion of such materials. Biopolymers are derived from renewable sources and can be used in a range of products, including bags, which helps to develop a sustainable supply chain.
	DEFRA continues to work closely with the devolved administrations, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, the British Retail Consortium, retailers and the plastics industry to develop a voluntary approach for reducing the environmental impact of carrier bags. Earlier this year, UK retailers agreed to reduce the overall environmental impact of their carrier bags by 25 per cent. by the end of 2008.

Polytunnels: Planning Permission

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on planning procedures for  (a) existing and  (b) new agricultural polytunnels; what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on such procedures; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: While Communities and Local Government (CLG) has overall responsibility for planning policy in England, the interpretation of planning regulations is a matter for the local planning authority in the first instance.
	Polytunnels are important to the horticultural sector for helping growers to supply a wide range of high-quality produce over a full season. Crops, especially soft fruit such as strawberries, need to be protected and polytunnels provide an ideal, cost-effective solution. Growing fruit in polytunnels is in line with DEFRAs Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food in that it meets demand for home grown fruit all the year round. However, extensive polytunnels can have a significant impact on the landscape and the local planning authority must consider each case on its merits.
	I have had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the question of planning policy for polytunnels, but DEFRA and CLG officials work closely together on this issue.

Power Stations: Carbon Emissions

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what change there has been in carbon dioxide emissions from power generation since the programmed closure of older nuclear power stations began; how the power generated by those stations has been replaced; and what net change there has been in carbon dioxide emissions as a result of the replacement generation.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	Since 2000, six older nuclear power stations with a total generation capacity of approximately 2 GW have closed. Total carbon dioxide emissions from the power generation sector over the same period (2000-05) have increased by nearly 5 million tonnes of carbon. The level of carbon emissions from the power sector depends on a number of factors, including the level of demand and the wholesale electricity price, which is underpinned by the price of fossil fuels and the price of carbon in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
	The impact of the closure of nuclear power stations on emissions will depend on the assumptions about the stations which have replaced them. If the capacity has been replaced by generation technologies that emit carbon (such as gas-fired generation, for example) then it is likely that the closure of the older nuclear capacity will have contributed to the rise in carbon emissions from the power sector between 2000 and 2005.

River Don: Pollution

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what measures have been implemented in order to prevent further overflow pollution similar to that experienced in 2006 in the River Don;
	(2)  what the most recent assessment is of the water quality of the River Don in the area which was affected by the overflow pollution in 2006.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency (EA) has been working with Yorkshire Water to agree changes to operations at Blackburn Meadows Sewage Treatment Works (Sheffield), within the terms of its permit. Improved maintenance and changes to procedure should improve the ability of the sewage works to deal with future storm events.
	A study is under way into the main storm overflow from Aldwarke Sewage Treatment Works (Rotherham). Any improvements the study identifies will be completed by March 2010.
	The EA is starting discussions with Yorkshire Water to agree a study into the impact of the combined storm overflows from the middle section of the River Don from Sheffield through Rotherham to Doncaster. The study will establish in detail what happens when summer storms occur and what can be done to improve the infrastructure in the future. In the EAs Periodic Review submission to the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) it will recommend that this study be carried out.
	The Environment Agency's preliminary assessment of 2006 chemical water quality data shows that the River Don between Blackburn Meadows Sewage Works and Rotherham Centre (2.5 km) has deteriorated from "fairly good quality" to "fair quality" since 2005. While the river has deteriorated slightly in quality, it has not failed the long-term water quality objective set for the river.
	The River Don below Blackburn Meadows Sewage Works failed the Freshwater Fisheries Directive in 2005 and has, provisionally, failed in 2006. It is believed that the sewage treatment works caused this failure. Consequently, the EA is also recommending to Ofwat that a detailed study concerning this failure be carried out.

Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with representatives of the devolved administrations on measures to maintain and improve the marine environment.

Ben Bradshaw: We have been working with the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly in recent months on our Marine Bill White Paper. I hope that that cooperation and commitment to the marine environment will remain after the Scottish elections in May.

Sewage: Floods

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of sewer flooding where raw sewage has contaminated homes and property occurred in  (a) England,  (b) each English region and  (c) each county in the last three years.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 27 April 2007
	 Ofwat is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. It collects information from companies on internal and external sewer flooding each year by water and sewerage company area.
	The following table sets out the number of incidents of internal and external sewer flooding from public sewerage systems by company area in the last three years. The internal and external incidents include flooding to both household and non-household properties. Ofwat does not collect information showing the split of incidents between household and non-household properties. External incidents also include highway flooding incidents and incidents to open public spaces.
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Company  Internal  External  Internal  External  Internal  External 
			 Anglian Water 127 3,137 172 2,621 188 1,178 
			 Northumbrian 407 1,895 277 2,085 1,347 3,894 
			 Severn Trent (who also supply parts of Wales) 686 4,912 808 3,285 725 3,477 
			 South West 123 155 144 1,118 187 1,323 
			 Southern 263 5,102 308 5,019 444 5,237 
			 Thames 505 3,106 1,340 3,745 1,103 3,778 
			 United Utilities 822 3,355 1,661 2,943 734 4,056 
			 Wessex 93 3,309 137 3,244 96 1,643 
			 Yorkshire 439 418 469 1,064 306 888 
			 Total 3,465 25,389 5,316 25,124 5,130 25,474

Telephone Use: Mrs. Beckett

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to public funds was of the telephone use of the right hon. Member for Derby, South from her official residence in Admiralty House in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

Barry Gardiner: Costs incurred by Ministers in the course of official business are borne by the department. The cost to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for telephone services in Admiralty House for my right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett) between March 2004 and February 2006 was £1,412.51. The bulk of these costs were for the service charges associated with the telephone services provided.

Television: Carbon Emissions

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect on carbon dioxide emissions of plasma television screens.

Ian Pearson: The Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) estimates that in 2005 63 million television (TV) sets were being used in UK homes. Approximately 90 per cent. of these were the traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) type and approximately 10 per cent. were flat screen plasma or LCD types. By 2010, we estimate that the total number of TVs will rise to around 67 million sets, of which approximately 50 per cent. will be CRTs, and approximately 40 per cent. LCD and plasma. The remaining 10 per cent. will be made up of rear-projection and yet-to-emerge technologies such as organic light-emitting diode and field-emission diode screens.
	Our assessment, based on current trends, is that the energy consumed by all TVs could increase from around 10 Terra Watt Hours (TWh) of electricity (roughly 1.1 million tonnes of carbon) in 2005 to over 15 TWh of electricity (1.7 million tonnes of carbon) in 2010. Most of this potential increase in emissions is accounted for by a predicted significant rise in the average electricity consumption of each unit. This will be caused by the trend for consumers purchasing TVs with larger screens, including both plasma and LCD technologies, replacing their older and smaller CRT models, and a small increase in the total TV viewing hours and standby usage by households.
	However, we believe there is a potential, through actions by manufacturers and retailers to bring forward and to promote TVs that are more energy efficient, so that the projected 2010 electricity consumption can be reduced by around 10 per cent.
	The issue of increasing emissions from new generation television sets and the potential impact of emerging technologies was assessed in a report published for DEFRA in June 2005, entitled An Assessment of Emerging Innovative Energy Efficient Technologies as part of the Energy Efficiency Innovation Review.

Waste Management

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many civil servants of each grade are employed by  (a) the Waste Management Division and  (b) the Waste Strategy Division within his Department.

Barry Gardiner: The number of staff employed in the two divisions as at 31 March 2007 was as follows:
	
		
			  Grade equivalent  Waste management  Waste strategy 
			 AO 5 3 
			 EO 7 9 
			 HEO 12 9 
			 SEO 1 4 
			 Grade 7 6 5 
			 Grade 6 0 1 
			 SCS 1 1 
			 Total 32 32 
		
	
	The numbers shown are a headcount and exclude inwardly seconded staff.

Waste Management

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the job title is of each staff position in  (a) the Waste Management Division and  (b) the Waste Strategy Division within his Department.

Barry Gardiner: Job titles for staff in DEFRAs Waste Management and Strategy Divisions are as follows:
	 Waste Management Division
	SCS Deputy Director, Head of Waste Management Division
	Personal Secretary to the Head of Division
	Grade 7 Head of Waste Management Licensing Unit
	2 HEO Policy advisers
	EO Policy adviser
	AO Administrator
	Grade 7 Head of Fly-tipping Strategy Unit
	SEO Policy adviser
	2 HEO Policy advisers
	EO Policy adviser
	AO Administrator
	Seconded Policy adviser
	Grade 7 Head of Hazardous Waste Unit
	SEO Policy adviser (post vacant)
	2 HEO Policy advisers
	2 EO Policy advisers
	AO Administrator
	Seconded Policy adviser
	Grade 7 Head of Producer Responsibility Unit
	4 HEO Policy advisers
	2 EO Policy advisers
	AO Administrator
	Grade 7 Head of Waste Framework Directive Unit
	2 HEO Policy advisers (1 post vacant)
	EO Policy adviser
	Grade 7 Head of Permitting Development Unit
	HEO Policy adviser
	 Waste Strategy Division
	SCS Head of Waste Strategy Division
	Personal Secretary to Head of Division
	G7 Team leader of Waste Policy and Processes Branch
	3 HEO Policy advisers
	2 EO Policy advisers
	Grade 6 Team Leader of Waste Strategy review Branch
	SEO Project Manager and Policy adviser
	HEO Policy adviser
	2 EO Policy advisers
	Grade 7 Head of Local Authority Waste Funding and Governance Branch
	2 SEO Policy advisers
	HEO (D) Policy adviser
	EO Policy adviser
	AO Administrator
	Grade 7 Head of Waste Evidence Branch
	SPTO, Senior Waste Technical Officer
	HEO Programme Officer (Vacant)
	EO Project Officer (Vacant)
	AO Administrator (shared between Waste Evidence Branch and Waste
	Resources Branch)
	Grade 7, Head of Waste and Resources Branch
	HEO (D), Policy adviser
	HEO Policy adviser
	EO Policy adviser
	Grade 7 Team Leader and Policy adviser, Local Authority Waste Performance
	Branch
	2 HEO Policy advisers
	3 EO Policy advisers

Waste Management

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many scientists are employed by the  (a) Waste Management Division and  (b) Waste Strategy Division within his Department.

Barry Gardiner: Official scientific capacity in these divisions resides in DEFRAs Waste Evidence Branch (formerly the Waste Research Team).
	There are two scientists in this team:
	(i) the Head of Branch, a Grade 7, a Chartered Environmentalist and Waste Management Professional who holds a joint Honours BSc in Chemistry and Applied Zoology
	(ii) the Senior Waste Technical Officer, a Senior Professional Technical Officer (SPTO), who holds a Masters in Geography focusing on environment.
	DEFRA is also supported on waste-related scientific and technical issues by the Environment Agency.

Wood: China

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what procedures are in place to ensure that hardwood products imported from China are not made from timber that has been illegally felled in Indonesia; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that imports of hardwood finished goods to the EU from China have been sourced from sustainable timber in  (a) the Far East and  (b) other countries.

Barry Gardiner: Currently there is no measure available to the UK to stop forest products being imported on the grounds that some or all of the timber used in their manufacture may not have met the laws of a third country.
	However, the Indonesian Government have banned the export of round logs and most categories of rough sawn timber, as a measure to help tackle illegal logging within their borders.
	To introduce more effective measures, Indonesia is negotiating a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU. This would allow member states to ban imports of timber directly from Indonesia which have not been licensed by the Indonesian Government as legally harvested. The UK Department for International Development is actively supporting these negotiations. This Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) agreement, as currently proposed, would not stop Indonesian companies from exporting timber to third party countries, such as China, that do not have FLEGT type agreements with Indonesia. While the Indonesian Government have indicated that they intend to require timber exports to all countries to meet the same legality requirements as those specified under the VPA, the potential for circumvention remains a matter of concern. One solution might be the inclusion of an obligation on FLEGT partner countries to report on levels of timber imports and exports and actions taken to prevent circumvention.
	The European Commission recently completed a public consultation exercise on options for additional measures. The UK has indicated particular interest in proposals for a new regulation which would make it a crime in a member state, to trade in products which contain or were manufactured from timber that had been illegally harvested, regardless of country of origin. It is important to stress that currently these options are presented in outline; the European Commission has made no formal proposal to the Council of Ministers. A great deal of detailed work must be done to ensure that any future legal instrument represents good and enforceable law.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Cancer: Drugs

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been carried out by his Department of the effectiveness of Sutent in treating cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has responsibility for assessment of the cost and clinical effectiveness of new cancer drugs such as Sutent. In July 2006, the Department established a formal link with NICE (on behalf of the HPSS) under which NICE guidance is reviewed for its applicability to Northern Ireland and, where deemed to be applicable, is endorsed by the Department for implementation in the HPSS. Sutent has not yet been referred to NICE for assessment.
	The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has however assessed this drug and has not recommended its use in the NHS in Scotland. In the absence of an assessment by MCE, local commissioners will be informed by the SMCs guidance when assessing priorities for the use of specialist drugs moneys in Northern Ireland. In this context, therefore, the Department would not expect Sutent to be widely available for patients in Northern Ireland until further evidence of the clinical and cost effectiveness of the drug is available.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on hospitality by  (a) each department in Northern Ireland and  (b) his Department in financial year 2006-07.

David Hanson: The following table shows the amount spent on hospitality by each department in Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Office in the financial year 2006-07.
	
		
			  Department  Amount spent on hospitality 2006-07 (£) 
			 DARD 60,618 
			 DCAL 26,590.64 
			 DE 43,983.43 
			 DEL 29,819 
			 DETI 22,664.81 
			 DOE 11,615.03 
			 DFP 140,041 
			 DHSSPS 161,813 
			 DRD 16,596.14 
			 DSD 25,187 
			 OFMDFM 78,523 
			 NIO 404,476 
		
	
	These figures are based on provisional outturn and are therefore subject to change. They relate to expenditure on hospitality and entertainment provided but in the case of DE, DFP and DSD it has not been possible, without incurring disproportionate costs, to completely separate out other associated costs such as room hire.
	Expenditure incurred on hospitality by the NIO includes accommodation and hospitality for members of the royal family, visiting dignitaries and Heads of State, and also hospitality for the representatives of business, voluntary and community sectors in Northern Ireland attending the annual garden party at Hillsborough Castle.

Departments: Public Opinion

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library a copy of the full results of the scoping study opinion poll commissioned from MORI by his Department.

David Hanson: My Department has not commissioned a scoping study opinion poll from MORI in respect of the proposed multi-sports stadium at the Maze/Long Kesh site.

Doctors: Recruitment

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date he expects doctors who have already been interviewed in Northern Ireland to be informed of the outcome of round one.

Paul Goggins: All applicants will be informed of the outcome of round one on completion of the interview process. This is expected at the end of May 2007.

Doctors: Recruitment

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects medical applicants to the Northern Ireland unit of application to be able to express a preference for a particular hospital and location within the Province.

Paul Goggins: Successful applicants will be able to express preferences following the round of interviews, which are expected to be completed at the end of May 2007.

Doctors: Recruitment

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which specialities have already given junior doctors the opportunity to submit a CV with their application in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: In Northern Ireland all recruitment panels had access to full application forms including employment history. Applicants were also asked to bring their complete portfolio to interview.

Doctors: Recruitment

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many foundation year 2 and senior house officer posts are funded, by speciality, in each of the Northern Ireland hospitals;
	(2)  how many foundation year 2 posts he expects to be funded, by speciality, in each of the Northern Ireland hospitals in August.

Paul Goggins: It is expected that 844 SHO training posts will be funded in total. This includes 231 Foundation 2 and 96 GP posts.
	A breakdown of specialities and hospitals based on August 2006 baseline figures will be placed in the Library.

Doctors: Training

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are taken to ensure that junior doctors (Foundation Year 2 and Senior House Officer) working in paediatrics complete a certified paediatric life support course before being on call in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: If, under local clinical governance arrangements, the completion of a certified life support course is a requirement for Foundation year 2 and Senior House Officers working in paediatrics, this should be supported by the Trust.

Doctors: Training

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the ratio of speciality training to fixed term speciality training appointments is by speciality in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The current ratio of speciality training posts to fixed term speciality training posts is set out in the following table. These figures will be subject to further change through the reallocation of 20 fixed term speciality training posts to GP training posts.
	
		
			  Speciality  Speciality training posts  Fixed term speciality training posts  Ratio 
			 Acute care 26 22 1:1.18 
			 Anaesthetics 22 0  
			 General Practice 67 0  
			 General Medicine 98 67 1:1.46 
			 Obs and Gynae 22 27 0.8:1 
			 Ophthalmology 7 2 3.5:1 
			 Oral and Maxillo-facial surgery 1 0  
			 Paediatrics 40 18 2.22:1 
			 Pathology 6 0  
			 Psychiatry in General 45 26 1:1.73 
			 Radiology 6 0  
			 Surgery 43 68 1.58:1 
			 Neurosurgery 3 1 1:0.33 
			 Total 386 231 1:1.67

Doctors: Training

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to ensure that electronic signatures are verified before assessments are entered on the online NHS eportfolio for junior doctors in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: An eportfolio is individually password protected and Trainees are also required to sign a probity declaration.

Driving Offences

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many drivers in Northern Ireland have been  (a) issued with fixed penalty fines for excess speed,  (b) prosecuted for excess speed,  (c) involved in fatal road traffic accidents and  (d) prosecuted as a result of being involved in a road traffic accident in the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: PSNI have provided the information in the following table which relates to drivers issued with fixed penalty fines and those drivers reported for prosecution for excess speed in 2006. A total of 173(1) drivers were involved in fatal road traffic accidents in this same period. However, the PSNI does not specifically record the number of drivers prosecuted as a result of being involved in a road traffic collision.
	(1) 2006 figures are provisional and subject to change
	
		
			  Excess s peed  2006 
			 Received fixed penalty 21,697 
			 Reported for prosecution 3,894

Further Education: Internet

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what records he keeps of the number of people in Northern Ireland enrolled on online further education courses.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Employment and Learning does not keep records specifying the number of students enrolled on online further education courses. It is not a mandatory requirement by the Department for further education colleges in Northern Ireland to provide information specifically related to students studying online courses; and colleges in Northern Ireland do not hold definitive data relating to this.

Health Professions: Training

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost has been of the generic skills study days organised by the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency.

Paul Goggins: The cost of the generic skills study days came to £68,610, which was met within existing NIMDTA resources.

Health Professions: Training

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost has been of introducing the online NHS eportfolio website in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: There was no cost to Northern Ireland in introducing NHS eportfolio, as it was provided free.

Health Professions: Training

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many speciality training posts at  (a) first,  (b) second and  (c) third year he expects to be available by speciality in each Northern Ireland hospital in August.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Speciality  ST1  ST2  ST3  ST4  Speciality training posts 
			 Acute care 12 8 6  26 
			 Anaesthetics 9 0 13  22 
			 General practice 55 5 7  67 
			 General medicine 32 29 37  98 
			 Obs and gynae 8 8 6  22 
			 Ophthalmology 1 2 4  7 
			 Oral and maxillo-facial surgery 1    1 
			 Paediatrics 10 10 10 10 40 
			 Pathology 6    6 
			 Psychiatry in general 12 12 12 9 45 
			 Radiology 6    6 
			 Surgery 12 13 18  43 
			 Neurosurgery 1   2 3 
			 Total 165 87 113 21 386

Health Professions: Training

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fixed term speciality training appointments at  (a) first,  (b) second and  (c) third year he expects to be available, by speciality, in each Northern Ireland hospital in August.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Speciality  ST1  ST2  ST3  Fixed term speciality training posts 
			 Acute care 10 12  22 
			 Anaesthetics    0 
			 General practice    0 
			 General medicine 31 36  67 
			 Obs and gynae 14 13  27 
			 Ophthalmology  2  2 
			 Oral and maxillo-facial surgery    0 
			 Paediatrics 4 6 8 18 
			 Pathology    0 
			 Psychiatry in general 7 9 10 26 
			 Radiology    0 
			 Surgery 19 49  68 
			 Neurosurgery  1  1 
			 Total 85 128 18 231

Mentally Ill: Convictions

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of those convicted of criminal offences in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years were sentenced by mental health order disposals.

David Hanson: The mental health order disposal available in the criminal courts is the hospital order. The following table gives the number of hospital order disposals and the total number of disposals for those convicted, for the calendar years 2001 to 2005. Due to small numbers the percentage of those sentenced by hospital orders has not been calculated.
	Data are collated on the principal offence rule; thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
	
		
			  Table: Number of hospital orders and total number of disposals given 2001 to 2005( 1,2) 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Number of hospital order disposals 1 3 2 2 6 
			 Total number of disposals 24,350 24,100 26,675 27,925 26,255 
			 (1) Data are collated on the principal offence rule; thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.  (2)( )Data for 2005 are provisional.

Official Publications

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the  (a) findings and  (b) recommendations were of the review conducted by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of practice across Departments on the printing and distribution of Government publications.

David Hanson: Following the implementation of the cross-departmental policy on the use of recycled paper and the adoption of an electronic print policy in October 2005 officials from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister performed an informal impact review of the use of recycled paper and the electronic distribution of Government publications. This showed there will be an initial increase in cost but ultimately these will reduce and that there will be a positive environmental impact. On this basis a report is being drafted which will recommend the continuation of the use of recycled paper and electronic publishing in all Government Departments.

Olympic Games: Greater London

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has made within Government in the last 12 months about securing benefits to Northern Ireland from the 2012 Olympics.

Maria Eagle: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) is the lead Northern Ireland Department to ensure Northern Ireland benefits from the potential opportunities that will arise from London hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.
	The DCAL Permanent Secretary chairs an Olympic NI Task Force, which consists of representatives from other Government Departments and organisations responsible for delivering the benefits. This Group has met on four occasions over the last 12 months. DCAL works in close partnership with the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), the lead Government Department and with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

Schools: Playing Fields

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many school playing fields there were in each education and library board area in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: The Education and Library Boards have provided the following information for the number of playing fields at controlled and maintained schools. Information relating to voluntary grammar, grant-maintained integrated and Irish medium schools is not readily available.
	
		
			  Board Area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Belfast 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 53 53 53 
			 Southern 152 152 153 154 154 154 153 153 153 153 153 
			 Western 84 87 90 90 90 89 86 84 84 80 80 
			 North Eastern 121 121 118 118 118 118 118 118 118 116 114 
			 South Eastern 78 78 73 73 73 74 76 76 76 76 76

Sportsgrounds: Lisburn

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on the Maze stadium project to date; how much has been spent on  (a) scoping,  (b) feasibility and  (c) promotion of the Maze stadium project; how much will be spent in total on site clearance; which Departments approved this expenditure; and whether such expenditure came from within existing departmental expenditure limits.

David Hanson: To date Government and the Strategic Investment Board (SIB) have spent £916,855.38 on the proposed multi-sports stadium project at the Maze/Long Kesh. These costs include £124,727.53 on business planning which incorporate both  (a) scoping and  (b)feasibility. From 2004 to the end of this financial year, the Office of First and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) will have spent some £2.9 million on site clearance, demolition, and decontamination to prepare the Maze/Long Kesh regeneration site for redevelopment. No costs have been incurred on promotion of the stadium. These expenditures were approved by the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) and OFMDFM and are within their existing departmental expenditure limits.

Sportsgrounds: Lisburn

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what evaluation was made of the financial feasibility of the Maze stadium project; and if he will place in the Library the report of such evaluation.

David Hanson: A viability assessment of a shared future multi-sports stadium for Northern Ireland was completed in May 2004. This concluded that the stadium could be operationally viable provided initial capital costs are met and the three sports bodies (Soccer, Rugby and Gaelic) agree to participate.
	A copy of this report will be placed in the Library when final agreement has been reached with the three sports bodies and the business case for the stadium has been approved.

Sportsgrounds: Lisburn

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether a study was undertaken to assess the viability of alternative sites to the Maze for a regional multi-purpose sports stadium.

David Hanson: A site selection evaluation exercise carried out in 2004 considered the viability of 12 sites for a shared future multi-sports stadium for Northern Ireland. Following this process, three sites were shortlisted for further, more detailed assessment. On the basis of this, two of the three remaining sites were ruled out on cost and acceptability grounds. This was announced in a press release in March 2005.

Sure Start Programme

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to implement the recommendations of  (a) the Sure Start funding bid and  (b) the South Down Family Health Initiative findings.

Maria Eagle: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The expansion of Sure Start is underway. Seven new projects have been created and 19 existing projects have expanded their catchment areas. Most expansions are operational, with the remainder in the process of recruitment of additional staff. Of the new projects, five have commenced delivery of services, and it is expected that the remainder will be operational later in 2007.
	 (b) In relation to the South Down family health initiative findings, since the report's publication, a part-time project worker has been appointed and a number of local projects have received support from a range of sources. Further funding will be based on an assessment of local priorities and affordability.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from non-governmental organisations on individual producer responsibility and the transposition of article 8.2 of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 April 2007
	 The DTIs consultation in July 2006 prompted 15 responses from non-government organisations on the issue of producer responsibility and Individual producer responsibility.
	The Government are committed to the principles of Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) and will continue to work with producers of EEE to establish a workable and cost effective process for IPR in the UK.
	The Government will also be considering how IPR is being addressed by other member states as part of the review of the WEEE Directive by the European Commission due to begin in 2008.

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on the implementation of article 8.2 of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 April 2007
	 DTI representatives have discussed article 8.2 of the WEEE Directive which introduces individual producer responsibility with the EU on several occasions as part of the UKs implementation process.
	DTI officials will continue to address this issue with the Commission and other member states as part of the review of the Directive scheduled to begin in 2008.

Energy Supply: Complaints

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if he will hold discussions with Ofgem on British Gas Services' setting up of a complaints handling service that is available to the public;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure that energy suppliers have effective and transparent complaints procedures.

Malcolm Wicks: The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill, which is currently before Parliament, would place a duty on the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) to make regulations to prescribe standards for the handling of complaints by regulated suppliers in the energy sector. Regulated energy suppliers will thus be obliged, at the very least, to have in place the prescribed standards of complaints handling. The Bill will also introduce new redress schemes for electricity, gas and postal services, which will be able to resolve the full range of consumer complaints in these sectors and make provision for customer redress, including, where appropriate, the payment of compensation.
	Customers currently have access to a complaint-handling service operated by Energywatch if they are unable to resolve a dispute directly with their gas and electricity supplier. Customers may also contact the Energy Supply Ombudsman, which can resolve complaints in respect of problems encountered with billing or changing supplier.

Low Carbon Buildings Scheme

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been  (a) allocated for grants and  (b) disbursed by the Low Carbon Buildings Scheme in each month since the scheme began.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 16 April 2007
	The information is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Month  Allocated  Disbursed 
			  2006   
			 May 118,609.94 0 
			 June 400,809.37 1,600.00 
			 July 796,790.76 4,000.00 
			 August 617,351.89 82,205.44 
			 September 693,352.60 81,379.50 
			 October 1,227,293.12 243,359.07 
			 November 1,227,385.73 298,575.68 
			 December 490,893.77 302,001.19 
			  2007   
			 January 493,267.92 390,058.92 
			 February 464,699.72 551,966.42 
			 March 647,304.95 594,249.85

Pregnant Women: Discrimination

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 26 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1317W, on pregnant women: discrimination, if he will place in the Vote Office copies of the Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits in Britain Survey 2005; how members of the public may obtain copies; at what cost; how much it cost his Department to produce the report; what follow up his Department plans to make on the report; how many officials were employed in drafting the report, broken down by grade; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department does not intend to place the report in the Vote Office, however it will arrange for a copy to be lodged in the Libraries of the House. The Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits in Britain: Survey of Parents 2005 is publicly available on the Department of Trade and Industry's website. The direct link to the report is: http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file27446.pdf and the link to the Employment Relations Research Series, in which this publication is number 50, is http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/research-evalution/errs/. Hard copies of the report are available, free of charge, from the Department's publications order-line0845 015 0010 and quoting the Unique Reference Number (URN) 06/836.
	The cost of conducting the survey was shared with the Department for Work and Pensions. The contribution made by the Department of Trade and Industry for conducting the survey, analysis and to produce the report was approximately £150,000. The Department will consider commissioning a follow-up survey in future years to assess the impact of recent legislative change on maternity and paternity rights. The survey report was drafted by Deborah Smeaton and Alan Marsh of the Policy Studies Institute, an independent research institute which was commissioned by the Department. No officials were employed in the drafting of the report.

Thorp

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the safety implications associated with the re-opening of the Thorp reprocessing plant; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 16 April 2007
	 The Health and Safety Executives Nuclear Installations Inspectorate issued a Consent on 9 January 2007 to allow the THORP plant to reopensatisfied that the site licensee had done all work necessary to ensure THORP could be restarted safely. The precise date to restart reprocessing fuel at THORP is a matter for the licenseeSellafield Ltd. in discussion with the site owner the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Wind Power: Air Traffic Control

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the representations of NATS (En-route) plc in respect of the proposed Brenig wind farm.

Malcolm Wicks: As no application for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 has been lodged in respect of the proposed Brenig wind farm, no such assessment has been made.

TRANSPORT

Compulsory Purchase: Flimwell

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to purchase the Weald Smokery in Flimwell under a compulsory purchase order.

Stephen Ladyman: Draft orders for the A21 schemes have not yet been published, so no properties are currently subject to compulsory purchase. However, the owner of the Weald Smokery has served a Statutory Blight Notice on the Secretary of State and this has been accepted. The property is therefore to be acquired under the blight provisions contained in Section 154(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Departments: Translation Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  into which languages  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its executive agencies translates official documents and publications.
	(2)  how much  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its executive agencies spent on translation services in each of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Dudley North, (Mr. Austin) of 23 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 1681-82W.

Manual for Streets

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Manual for Streets replaces the Places, Streets and Movements and Design Bulletin 32 documents in all circumstances where Places, Streets and Movements and Design Bulletin 32 have been used prior to the publication of Manual for Streets; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Manual for Streets replaces Places, Streets and Movement and Design Bulletin 32 for the design of residential streets. Places, Streets and Movement and Design Bulletin 32 were intended for residential roads and footpaths although may have been more widely applied. As with the guidance it replaces, Manual for Streets applies to residential streets. However the manual states that many of its key principles may be applicable to other types of streets, for example high streets and lightly-trafficked lanes in rural areas. It is the responsibility of users of the manual to ensure that its application to the design of non-residential streets is appropriate.

Railways: Hastings

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to change  (a) the timetabling and  (b) the frequency of train services along the Hastings to Charing Cross line; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The franchise agreement with London and South Eastern Railway, the train operator for Kent services, requires the provision of services on the Hastings to Charing Cross route with characteristics similar to those that exist today. The detail of the timetable necessary to fulfil that contractual obligation is a matter for the train operator to agree with Network Rail.

Roads: Darlington

Alan Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic  (a) accidents and  (b) fatalities there were in Darlington (i) involving drivers aged under 21 years and (ii) in total in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of reported personal injury road accidents and the resulting number of fatalities (i) involving drivers aged under 21 years, and (ii) in total, in the unitary authority of Darlington for each year since 1996 are given in the table. 2005 is the latest year for which data are available.
	
		
			  (i) Accidents in the unitary authority of Darlington involving at least one driver under the age of 21 and resulting fatalities GB: 1996-2005 
			   (a) Accidents  (b) Fatalities 
			 1996 90 3 
			 1997 81 3 
			 1998 92 2 
			 1999 85 0 
			 2000 86 0 
			 2001 77 0 
			 2002 78 1 
			 2003 82 0 
			 2004 72 1 
			 2005 75 0 
		
	
	
		
			  (ii) Accidents and resulting fatalities in the unitary authority of Darlington GB: 1996-2005 
			   (a) Accidents  (b) Fatalities 
			 1996 374 10 
			 1997 394 5 
			 1998 398 6 
			 1999 367 5 
			 2000 361 1 
			 2001 355 3 
			 2002 373 8 
			 2003 343 3 
			 2004 340 5 
			 2005 325 5

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Courts: Manpower

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the turnover of staff in the court system in each of the last three years.

Harriet Harman: The turnover rate for staff in Her Majestys courts service for the last two years is as follows:
	1 April 2005 to 31 March 20069 per cent.
	1 April 2006 to 31 March 20079 per cent.
	In the year prior to April 2005 the turnover rate for the court service excluding magistrates courts was:
	1 April 2004 to 31 March 20055 per cent.
	There are no centrally held figures for the magistrates prior to the creation of HMCS. The 42 Magistrates Committees maintained their own HR records. The cost of obtaining figures prior to April 2005 can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by her Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Harriet Harman: My Department has a single contract for office supplies that operates across all business areas. Under this arrangement the percentage breakdown of paper used for photocopying obtained from recycled sources in each of the last three years is set out as follows.
	
		
			   Recycled paper percentage 
			 2004-05 16.57 
			 2005-06 21.88 
			 2006-07 33.09 
		
	
	My Department obtains printed publications from variety of sources. Figures on percentage breakdown of paper used in printed publications from recycled stock over the past three years have not been held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fines: Compensation

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discretion magistrates have in implementing the victims surcharge when the sentence is a fine.

Harriet Harman: Magistrates have no discretion in implementing the victims surcharge when the sentence is a fine. They have a duty under section 161A(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to impose a surcharge. By virtue of the Surcharge Order it must be imposed in all cases where the sentence is a fine, whether or not any other penalty is imposed.

Fines: Compensation

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs who is responsible for  (a) notification and  (b) collection of the victims surcharge; what estimate has been made of the cost of collecting each victims surcharge; what funds have been allocated for the collection of the surcharge; and to which budget they have been allocated.

Harriet Harman: The court which imposes the victims surcharge is responsible for notification of the surcharge. Collecting the surcharge is the responsibility of the magistrates court, in the same way that they currently collect other financial impositions. As the courts are using existing systems, process and legislation (fines collection scheme) and the victims surcharge is being treated in the same way as a fine for the purposes of enforcement, there are no additional implementation costs for this Department.

Fines: Compensation

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what representations she has received on the victims surcharge since its introduction.

Harriet Harman: The Department has passed any representations received on the victims surcharge to the Home Office to respond to as they have lead policy responsibility for the issue. We do not keep a log of representations passed on this way.

Fines: Compensation

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions her Department had with  (a) magistrates and  (b) court clerks before the introduction of the victims surcharge; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Department consulted with the Magistrates Association and Justices Clerks Society on the implementation of the victims surcharge. The surcharge was discussed by the DCAs Criminal Enforcement Policy Advisory Group where the Justices Clerks Society and Magistrates Association were represented. Both organisations went on to jointly produce guidance for justices clerks and magistrates on the application of the surcharge.

Members: Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Castle Point of 30 March on Mrs. Wendy Gillespie.

Vera Baird: My Department has no record of receiving your letter of 30 March. However, my officials are preparing a response to your earlier related letter of 6 March. I apologise for the delay.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2006,  Official Report, column 342W, on the community legal service, when she expects to provide a substantive reply to the Question; and what the reason is for the delay.

Vera Baird: My reply to the hon. Member on 27 November 2006,  Official Report, column 342W, referred him to the list of highest paid barristers receiving fees out of the Community Legal Service during 2004-05. These were the latest figures available at the time the hon. Member tabled his question.
	Equivalent information for 2005-06 has now been verified with the barristers concerned and this will appear on my Departments website shortly. I will notify the hon. Member once it has been made available.

Ministry of Justice: Manpower

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps have been taken to train Home Office staff who will transfer to the Ministry of Justice following its creation.

Vera Baird: Staff from the Home Office and Department for Constitutional Affairs transferring to the Ministry of Justice will continue to carry out their usual functions on and immediately after its creation on 9 May. We will be working with colleagues from the Home Office to determine what training and information they will need to support them through the change. DCA has experience of transferring large groups of staff from the creation of HM Courts Service in 2005 and The Tribunals Service in 2006. Information will be communicated through the departmental intranet, including regularly updated FAQ pages.

Opinion Leader Research

Mark Francois: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what payments her Department has made to  (a) Opinion Leader Research and  (b) Deborah Mattinson in each year since 1997.

Vera Baird: The Department has only made payments to Opinion Leader Research and are detailed as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1997 to 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 76,316 
			 2006-07 77,154

Sentencing

David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will publish information on judges to allow comparison of their sentencing for the same offences.

Harriet Harman: There are no plans to enable analysis of sentences by individual judge. It would not be possible to analyse the sentencing decisions of individual judges in such a way as to allow for any meaningful comparison, as no two offences or offenders are identical. It is the role of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division to ensure consistency of sentencing, either in relation to appeals against sentence or references by the Attorney-General.

Vetting

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average cost is of carrying out a Criminal Records Bureau check.

Harriet Harman: My Department pays fees to the Criminal Records Bureau which carries out the checks. These are currently £31 for a standard disclosure and £36 for an enhanced disclosure. The additional cost of processing checks within my Department is not kept centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost.

Vetting: Training

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average cost was of training officers in the court system to perform Criminal Records Bureau checks in the latest period for which figures are available.

Harriet Harman: My Department currently has 40 staff in its Human Resources Directorate who are trained in assessing criminal records information received from the Criminal Records Bureau. These are supported by administrative staff who have been trained in the checks process. These staff perform criminal records checks duties as part of their job roles. The cost of training these staff is not held centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Climate Change

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with international counterparts on climate change.

John Prescott: I have just returned from China where my meetings with Premier Wen and State Councillor Tang included discussion on the importance of international co-operation on climate change. I also presented a proposal for Sino-UK collaboration in creating sustainable cities, launched phase II of the UK-China Sustainable Development Dialogue and delivered three keynote speeches on sustainability and climate change to international audiences.
	Earlier in April, I launched the British Embassy / British Council climate change campaign Opportunity through Action in Prague with keynote speeches at a dinner debate and a youth conference. I engaged Czech Prime Minister Topolanek, and Deputy Prime Ministers Bursik and Vondra on the subject of climate change during separate bilateral meetings and later that week I discussed similar issues with Maltese Prime Minister Gonzi and President Adami.

Departments: EC Action

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many EU Council meetings he has attended; and who represents him if he is unable to attend.

John Prescott: Ministers and civil servants attend many meetings as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not the normal practice of Government to disclose details or attendance at such meetings. However, I can state that the British Government is always represented at EU Council meetings.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Council Tax

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 130W, on the armed forces: council tax, what options are being considered; when he expects to publish his proposals; and what powers there are to ensure that his proposals are implemented across the United Kingdom.

Derek Twigg: We are discussing with Communities and Local Government both statutory and non-statutory options for providing support for the council tax costs in England of service personnel deployed on operations abroad. We wish to find a solution to this as soon as possible.
	Any decision to implement a statutory council tax discount scheme in Wales and Scotland, or a new domestic rate relief in Northern Ireland would be entirely a matter for the Welsh Assembly, Scottish Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly.

Armed Forces: Footwear

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what type of footwear is issued to members of the armed forces as  (a) part of their standard kit and  (b) when deployed to operations in Iraq; where this footwear is sourced from; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 April 2007
	 Footwear supplied to the armed forces is of the following types: Combat; Parade/Ceremonial; and Safety Footwear. The standard issue footwear as part of the Combat Soldier 95 ensemble is the Combat Assault Boot.
	Troops deploying on operations in Iraq are issued with Desert Combat Boots. Lightweight patrol boots are also available depending on the duties being undertaken in theatre.
	Most footwear is sourced through the prime contractor, Iturri, a Spanish footwear manufacturer.

Armed Forces: Footwear

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the lifetime of footwear issued to members of the armed forces; how often new footwear is issued to members of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The life expectancy of footwear varies between each type depending on use and conditions. In broad terms the expectation is: Combat Boots should last between one and five years (although Jungle Boots and Desert Boots may only have a life of six weeks or six months respectively); Parade/Ceremonial Boots are repairable and can last from one to five years plus; Safety Footwear six months to two years.
	When boots are no longer serviceable or there has been a change in the users needs, replacement boots can be obtained or requested from the Unit Quartermasters both in the UK and overseas.

Armed Forces: Footwear

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what tests were conducted as part of the procurement procedure of the footwear issued to members of the armed forces; what  (a) temperature,  (b) weather and  (c) terrain conditions were used as part of these tests; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 April 2007
	When new footwear requirements, designs and materials are introduced, they are subjected to laboratory testing and trials in the locations and conditions for which the item has been designed. The new version of the desert combat boot, introduced in March 2006, is a modification of the existing design, which has been in use since around 2000. Testing in this case was therefore limited to that done in the laboratory.

Armed Forces: Footwear

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the monthly expenditure on footwear for members of the armed forces was in  (a) 1999 and  (b) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 April 2007
	The current five-year enabling arrangement for supplying footwear to the armed forces was awarded in 2004. The estimated value of the contract is between £8 million and £9 million per year.
	The information prior to 2004 is not held centrally and could be provided at only disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what ring-fenced capacity in each speciality his Department requested from the Department of Health in each year since 2001; and what the cost of this capacity was.

Derek Twigg: There is no ring fenced capacity but the MOD has negotiated accelerated access to hospital assessment and treatment from the five Ministry of Defence Hospital Units (MDHU) host trusts and the University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust (UHBFT). The cost of this delivery in 2006-07 was just under £30 million.
	The historic figures for the MDHU spend on accelerated access are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2001-02 22.4 
			 2002-03 23.7 
			 2003-04 25.1 
			 2004-05 26.8 
			 2005-06 27.5 
			 2006-07 29.8 
		
	
	Furthermore, MOD and the Department of Health have agreed an integrated plan for reception arrangements for military patients (RAMP), to manage the reception of injured military personnel in NHS hospitals. This covers the reporting of patients, their medical reception, movement, tracking, care and administration within the NHS.
	The military managed ward (MMW) located in the orthopaedic/trauma ward in Selly Oak hospital (part of UHBFT) provides clinical care, by a combined team of military and civilian personnel, for military patients whose clinical condition allows for them to be nursed in this ward.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian medical personnel assisted in the provision of medical support on military operations overseas in each year since 2001, broken down by operation.

Derek Twigg: The number of individual civilian medical personnel who have been employed on operations overseas in each calendar year is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Operation: 
			   OculusBalkans  TelicIraq 
			 2001   
			 2002   
			 2003 1  
			 2004 4 6 
			 2005 1 11 
			 2006  21

Armed Forces: Housing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions his Department has held with  (a) the Local Government Association,  (b) veterans' associations,  (c) the Gurkha Welfare Association and  (d) others on the housing needs resulting from army discharges.

Derek Twigg: Discussions take place regularly with the Department for Communities and Local Government and other interested parties, these include a quarterly meeting involving representatives from the veterans' and wider charitable organisations. I met with my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Local Government and Community Cohesion (Mr. Woolas) on 13 March to discuss housing issues. Recent discussions have covered a wide range of subjects including veterans' homelessness projects of current interest and research into levels of homelessness among veterans and the measures to address these.
	There have been no recent direct discussions with the Local Government Association or Gurkha specific charitable organisations.

Armed Forces: Inheritance Tax

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether inheritance tax is payable on the estate of service personnel who are killed  (a) on active service and  (b) on overseas service outside the theatre of war;
	(2)  under what circumstances inheritance tax is waived on the estate of service people killed in the line of duty.

Derek Twigg: Under S154 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, liability to inheritance tax does not apply in relation to the death of service personnel, where the Secretary of State for Defence, or the Defence Council, certifies that the individual died from a wound inflicted, accident occurring, or disease contracted, either on active service against an enemy, or on other service of a warlike nature. This includes current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
	Should an individual die from an injury or disease contracted at some previous time, with death being due to, or hastened by, the aggravation of the injury or illness which occurred during a period when the aforementioned conditions applied, then consideration is given on a case-by-case basis to granting an exemption from a liability to inheritance tax.
	As part of the assistance provided to bereaved families, the MOD Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) considers whether the circumstances of a death of anyone currently serving in the armed forces allows an exemption from inheritance tax and, where appropriate, provide the executor or family member with a certificate of exemption which can be passed to the relevant tax office.
	For claims arising as a result of injuries or illness sustained in previous conflicts or in retirement, applications for an exemption have to be made to the JCCC by the executor/next of kin following the death of the individual concerned.

Armed Forces: Military Aircraft

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft he plans to purchase for the  (a) Royal Air Force and  (b) Royal Navy.

Adam Ingram: The WP-3D variant of the US Lockheed Orion aircraft family was developed for the US Government as a weather research aircraft. There are no plans to procure any of these aircraft for the Royal Navy or Royal Air Force.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to implement the proposal in Early Day Motion 67 that all ex-servicemen and women should be treated equally in the payment of pensions regardless of when they served in Her Majestys armed forces.

Derek Twigg: The situation remains as set out by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for the Armed Forces (Mr. Ingram) on 31 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 337-40, during the adjournment debate secured by my hon. Friend the Member for Morley and Rothwell (Mr. Challen).

BAE Systems

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many meetings his private office has had with representatives of BAE Systems in the last 12 months; and what was discussed at each such meeting.

Adam Ingram: Over the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007, officials from the Private Office of the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support held a total of 12 meetings with representatives of BAE Systems. These meetings were to make arrangements for, or follow up on, actions from meetings between the Minister and BAES management. No other MOD ministerial Private Office staff met representatives of BAES Systems in this period.

Bell 212 Helicopters

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Bell 212 helicopters are in service with the British Army; and in which theatres they are deployed.

Adam Ingram: There are seven Bell 212 helicopters in service with the British Army, which are leased to the MOD under a civil owned military registered (COMR) contract. Of these, three are used by 7 Flt AAC in support of Brunei garrison and three by 25 Flt AAC in support of the British Army training support unit in Belize. There is an additional Bell 212 based at the School of Army Aviation (SAAvn) in Middle Wallop for aircrew training.

Bombs

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cluster bombs or their equivalents  (a) are in the ownership of the Government and  (b) have been ordered and have yet to be delivered; what will happen to these stocks; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I am withholding details about current and future in-service cluster munitions stock levels because its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
	As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence announced in his written ministerial statement on 20 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 36-37WS, we have withdrawn two types of cluster munitions, the RBL 755 and the MLRS M26, from service with immediate effect. Stocks of these munitions will undergo disposal. The disposal of other cluster munitions that have also been withdrawn from service (155mm HE M483, BL 755 and IBL 755) will continue. No further stocks of these munitions have been ordered.
	Holdings of cluster munitions that have been withdrawn from service and are awaiting disposal, rounded to the nearest 100, are:
	
		
			   Quantity 
			 BL 755 (including the RBL 755 and the IBL 755) bombs 2,500 
			 MLRS M26 rocket pods 7,200 
			 HE M483 shells 16,900 
			 HE M483 shells (unfused/incomplete) 2,400

Defence and Communications Services Agency

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the technical apprenticeships programme in the Defence and Communication Services Agency was wound down; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The DEandS Information Systems and Servicesformerly the Defence Communications Services Agencyhas run a three-year modern technical apprenticeship scheme since 2003. The scheme, which is delivered at HMS Collingwood in Hampshire, is designed to equip those successfully completing it with the skills and attributes required of the organisation's future technical managers. This scheme continues.
	Once HMS Collingwood was established, the previous legacy schemes run at Royal Air Force Henlow in Bedfordshire and at Highbury college, Portsmouth, which the Agency acquired in 2000, were discontinued in 2005 as they no longer provided the training and development necessary for technical staff working increasingly closely with commercial delivery partners.

Defence Dental Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Defence dental service officers were based  (a) in the UK and  (b) abroad, including those deployed on operations, in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: The numbers of Defence dental service officers are shown in the following table, as at 1 April in the year stated:
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  UK  
			 Military 218 198 198 198 200 
			 Civilian 42 42 42 42 42 
			   
			  Abroad  
			 Military 52 52 52 52 50 
			 Civilian 11 11 11 11 11 
		
	
	No civilian dental practitioners are deployed on operations. The uniformed Defence Dental Service Officers deployed on operations are drawn from the total cadre based in the UK and abroad as shown above. The numbers deployed on operations overseas in each calendar year were:
	
		
			   Operations 
			 2002 12 
			 2003 44 
			 2004 36 
			 2005 36 
			 2006 48

Defence Medical Service

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many absences of Defence medical service staff were recorded at each Ministry of Defence hospital unit headquarters in each year since 2001; and what the reasons were for such absences.

Derek Twigg: Defence Medical Services personnel employed in the five MOD hospital units may be absent from those units because they are undertaking military operational duties or training, or are on leave, or for other reasons. All absences are approved and recorded as necessary. However, the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Manpower

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) uniformed and  (b) civilian personnel work in (i) his Department's main building, (ii) the Old War Office Building and (iii) St. George's Court.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 29 March 2007
	The information requested is set out in the following table. The numbers relate to MOD military and civil service personnel permanently deployed to the respective buildings as at 1 April 2007. These figures can change on a day to day basis, and do not include contractor personnel or staff temporarily operating out of these buildings.
	
		
			   Military personnel  Civilian personnel  Total 
			 Main building 1,024 2,206 3,230 
			 Old War Office building 272 637 909 
			 St. George's Court 116 674 790 
			 Total 1,412 3,517 4,929

Departments: Money

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much cash was physically lost by his Department in each of the last 10 financial years for which information is available.

Adam Ingram: The amount of cash and cash equivalents (e.g. bank notes, postal orders, stamps and travel warrants) physically lost by the Department within the last three years is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 93,074.51 
			 2004-05 7,438.06 
			 2005-06 154,683.27 
		
	
	Information on cash losses prior to 2003-04 is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Parliamentary Questions

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many questions tabled by hon. and right hon. Members to his Department for oral answer have been transferred to other departments since May 2005.

Derek Twigg: Our records indicate that two oral questions tabled to this Department have been transferred since May 2005.

Electoral Commission

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer by the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speakers Committee on the Electoral Commission, of 27 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 261-62W, on annual canvass: armed forces, if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of the evaluation of the campaign.

Derek Twigg: Evaluation of the survey carried out to monitor registration levels and awareness among service personnel is not yet complete. I will place a copy of the report in the Library of the House when it becomes available.

Falkland Islands: Armed Conflict

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to assist  (a) the funding of and  (b) practical arrangements for events held by servicemen and women to mark the 25(th) anniversary of the Falklands war.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave, on the funding of events to commemorate the 25(th) anniversary of the Falklands conflict, on 22 February 2007,  Official Report, column 857W, to the hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle).
	In addition to the national commemorative events in June that my Department is organising, the armed forces are providing practical support in the form of hosting or supporting a number of other events that are being arranged around the country.

Military Aircraft: Procurement

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1671W, on military aircraft procurement, whether the four Britten Norman Defender aircraft are still deployed in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: It is not appropriate to comment on equipment currently deployed on operations as to do so could compromise operational security and the safety of service personnel.

Royal School of Military Engineering: Private Finance Initiative

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the reasons are for the delays encountered during the Royal School of Military Engineering Private Finance Initiative contract negotiations; what impact the delay in signing the contract has had on the training of military engineers; and what measures are being taken to ensure that contract signatures for similar projects are not delayed.

Derek Twigg: Work is ongoing to identify a solution for the Department that provides best value for money and is technically viable, on conclusion of which, the project, subject to successful completion of negotiations, is expected to proceed to contract award in the first half of 2008.
	The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) continues to deliver well-trained and motivated military engineers to meet the operational requirements of the armed forces. This output has not been affected by the ongoing RSME Project.

Royal Yacht: Repairs and Maintenance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to remove the cost of the upkeep of the Royal Yacht from the public purse; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 161W.

Service Accommodation

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2006,  Official Report, columns 512-13W, on service accommodation, for what reason single living accommodation is not assessed for standard for condition.

Derek Twigg: When single living accommodation (SLA) is assessed in respect of its grade for charge the process specifically includes an assessment of the physical condition of the property; along with other aspects including, scale, environment and location.
	Currently, this information is not assembled centrally into standard for condition statistics in the same way as for service family accommodation. The Department is, however, looking at the scope for grading all accommodation on a common basis in the future.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans the Government has to contribute  (a) personnel,  (b) hardware and  (c) finances to the hybrid force proposed for Darfur.

Adam Ingram: Discussions between the UN and African Union (AU) on a hybrid force for Darfur continue. The peacekeeping force is expected to be funded by UN assessed contributions, but the UNs Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) has not yet issued a list of requirements for personnel and equipment. The UK contributes 7.8 per cent. of the UN assessed peacekeeping budget worldwide.
	The UK fully supports the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in its peacekeeping role in Darfur. DPKO has undertaken extensive planning for support to AMIS, with one UK military planner deployed to New York to assist. At UN request, MOD has provided two further officers to fill key appointments in the first (light support package) phase of UN deployments. They are now in Sudan. The UK is also considering a UN request to send another officer to DPKO to assist with preparations for the AU-UN hybrid force.
	The Department will consider what further support can be provided when the plans for the hybrid force-are mature.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Leicestershire

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding his Department plans to allocate to Leicestershire local education authority for the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jim Knight: Leicestershire local authority has four Building Schools for the Future (BSF) projects, which have been provisionally prioritised for waves 10-12 and waves 13-15 of the programme. Funding for projects in these waves has not yet been allocated.
	Leicestershire currently has a phase one one-school-pathfinder project concerning King Edward VII School, which has been allocated £26 million of capital funding.
	72 local authorities with 87 projects are included in BSF waves one to six. A further 40 authorities are receiving a single-school project. Together with academies, a total of about 1,000 secondary schools are in line for modernisation.

Childrens Centres: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much capital has been  (a) spent and  (b) allocated for future years for the development of children's centres in Warrington.

Beverley Hughes: For the period 2004-06, £961,633 capital was made available to Warrington for the delivery of Sure Start services.
	The General Sure Start Grant (GSSG) made available £3,185,235 capital for the period 2006-08 for the delivery of Sure Start children's services.
	The CSR settlement gives us an overall spending envelope for 2008-11 which will enable us to deliver our key priorities for children, young people and learners. A specific capital allocation for Warrington will be made later in the year.

City Academies: Comprehensive Schools

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on the potential impact of city academies on nearby comprehensive schools.

Jim Knight: Each academy proposal is subject to a formal consultation process during its feasibility stage, and many representations about academy proposals are received, including the potential impact of academies on neighbouring schools.

City Academies: Consultants

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many project consultants have been engaged by  (a) his Department and  (b) associated bodies in the Academy Scheme; by what process consultants are appointed for the Scheme; and how much the Department has spent on such consultants.

Jim Knight: The Academies programme requires a wide range of skills including some which are outside the core civil service skills. Since the Academies programme began in December 2000 the Department for Education and Skills has spent £20,161,977 on a range of consultancy services for the Academies programme. The Department currently has 46 separate contracts for the provision of consultancy services to the Academies programme including:
	an ongoing independent evaluation of the programme;
	programme management expertise;
	school improvement and intervention;
	background checks to determine the suitability of potential sponsors,
	legal advice, construction procurement expertise
	Each Academy project also has an overall project manager who is initially contracted to the Department but whose contract transfers to the individual Academy Trust once the funding agreement is signed. The total cost of these project management services from the start of the programme is £28,338,823. There are now 47 open academies and 90 in the pipeline.
	Consultancy services are procured for the Academies programme in accordance with the Departmental Procurement Policy and the EU Procurement Directives.

Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what evidential basis the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority adopted the approach to the curriculum outlined in the National Curriculum planning guidance and draft supporting materials.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authoritys (QCA) approach to the curriculum outlined in the National Curriculum planning guidance and supporting materials is built on evidence from ongoing work with schools and colleges. The futures in action programme, which has been running since 2005, has continued to demonstrate a high degree of consensus about many of the characteristics of how the curriculum should be shaped. QCAs work is also supported by the results of its annual curriculum monitoring programme which includes interviews and questionnaires with head teachers, deputy heads, teachers and pupils.

Diplomas for England

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to train teachers to deliver the new Diplomas for England programme; and how much is being spent on such training.

Jim Knight: The Department has already put in place a broad programme of support to ensure that those teaching the Diplomasas well as those who will be leading and supporting the changeswill be well equipped to do so. The Department is working in partnership with the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL), Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK), the National Assessment Agency (NAA), the National College for School Leadership (NCSL), the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA), the Secondary National Strategies (SNS), the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), and the Training and Development Agency (TDA).
	Building on the existing skills of the education workforce, the programme provided by QIA and SSAT includes three days of continuing professional development spread through the 2007/08 academic year for leading Diploma practitioners from each consortium of schools and colleges that will teach Diplomas from 2008. Online materials, a training needs analysis tool, an online community and other resources will supplement this training and encourage collaboration between Diploma-teaching institutions. In future some initial teacher training placements will also be tailored specifically to Diploma teaching.
	In the financial year 2007-08 my Department has allocated a total of £45 million for the support of the 14 to 19 workforce development programmes.

Education: Leicestershire

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what capital funding he made available to Leicestershire county council in each financial year since 1996-97.

Jim Knight: Schools capital funding allocated to Leicestershire county council, including direct to schools in its area, in each financial year since 1996-97 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1996-97 3.6 
			 1997-98 2.9 
			 1998-99 6.5 
			 1999-2000 9.2 
			 2000-01 21.0 
			 2001-02 15.8 
			 2002-03 25.4 
			 2003-04 27.6 
			 2004-05 33.8 
			 2005-06 35.7 
			 2006-07 41.0

Education: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total amount of capital spending on education in Warrington was in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Schools capital funding allocated to Warrington, including direct to schools in its area, in each financial year since it achieved unitary status in 1998, is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Amount (£ million) 
			 1998-99 3.7 
			 1999-2000 4.7 
			 2000-01 8.7 
			 2001-02 9.0 
			 2002-03 10.0 
			 2003-04 8.8 
			 2004-05 8.0 
			 2005-06 9.8 
			 2006-07 12.1

GCSEs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which 200 maintained mainstream schools had the lowest proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs including English, mathematics, science and a modern foreign language in 2006.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 April 2007
	 The information requested has been placed in the House of Commons Library. Data for all schools was provided in the answer to PQ 112152 on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 298W.
	The link to the answer for PQ 112152 giving figures for all schools is at the following address:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/cgi-bin/newhtml_hl?DB=semukparlSTEMMER=enWORDS=112152ALL=ANY=PHRASE=CATEGORIES=SIMPLE=SPEAKER=COLOUR=redSTYLE=sANCHOR=70416w0063.htm_wqn0URL=/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070416/text/70416w0063.htm#70416w0063.htm wqn0
	This analysis is based on the revised 2006 KS4 data.

GCSEs

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many students achieved five GCSEs at grade C or above including English and mathematics in each year since 1997, excluding those students who achieved grade C equivalent at GNVQ;
	(2)  how many students achieved five GCSEs at grade C or above including English, mathematics, science and a modern foreign language in each year since 1997, excluding those students who achieved grade C or equivalent at GNVQ;
	(3)  how many students achieved five GCSEs at grade C or above including English, mathematics and science in each year since 1997, excluding those students who achieved grade C or equivalent at GNVQ.

Jim Knight: holding answer 24 April 2007
	 The following table shows the percentage of 15-year-old pupils(1) achieving five or more GCSEs excluding GNVQs(2) at grades A*-C including the subjects listed in each year since 1997(2).
	(1) Pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August.
	(2) At least a pass grade at a full intermediate GNVQ is equivalent to four GCSEs at grades A*-C.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   English and mathematics  English, mathematics and science  English, mathematics, science and MFL 
			 1997 35.6 33.2 25.7 
			 1998 36.9 34.3 27.5 
			 1999 38.6 35.7 29.1 
			 2000 39.9 36.9 29.8 
			 2001 40.6 37.6 30.4 
			 2002 41.9 38.6 30.3 
			 2003 41.5 38.5 28.5 
			 2004 42.2 39.0 28.4 
			 2005 43.6 40.3 28.0 
			 2006 44.2 40.4 25.8

Martial Arts: Schools

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his Department's expenditure on promoting martial arts in schools was in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Funding is not allocated on an individual activity or sport basis. In the five years to 2008, the Government have invested an additional £978 million in PE and school sport through the national school sport strategy. Where there is a perceived need, schools and school sport partnerships will allocate resources to martial arts locally.
	The percentage of schools in a school sport partnership offering martial arts has risen from 4 per cent. in 2003/04 to 9 per cent . in 2005/06.

Parenting Support

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to assist local authorities in providing parenting support.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 26 April 2007
	Local authorities are central to our ambitions to deliver additional support to parents and we will continue to support and collaborate with them.
	On 15 March 2007, we published, Every Parent Matters, which describes the Government's commitment to support the development of a wide range of services for parents to access, as and when they need it. It makes clear that local authorities will be at the heart of planning and delivering these services locally.
	In October 2006 we published Parenting Support, guidance for local authorities which describes the approach needed to develop a local strategy to provide a continuum of support for all parents. At the same time we launched the Commissioner's Toolkit, a database of parenting programmes including information on what research suggests about the effectiveness of current interventions. This toolkit is designed to equip commissioners to make decisions which better suit the needs of parents in their community. Over 2006-08 local authorities will receive the £7.5 million Parenting Support Strategy Grant. Its purpose is to assist local authorities in developing and implementing a strategic approach to parenting support, and build upon strategic approaches already in place.
	We have spent over £2.1 billion establishing and sustaining Sure Start Local Programmes and Children's Centres, since 1999, initially in some of our most disadvantaged areas. Currently there are 1,258 children's centres, providing a range of high quality early learning, health and parental support to a million young children under five and their families. There will be 2,500 centres by 2008, and 3,500 by 2010, one for every community. Additionally, we are establishing extended services for pupils, families and the wider community in all schools across the country. The extended schools core offer includes services providing parenting support, and over 4,500 schools are now delivering the offer. All schools will do so by 2010.
	A number of pilots have been developed with local authorities to deliver new ways of supporting parents. The learning from many of these pilots will inform the further roll out of extended schools and Sure Start Children's Centres. For example, Early Learning Partnerships are running in 19 local authorities; targeting hard to reach families and promoting their engagement in early learning for children aged one to three years. Transition information sessions will be run in 20 local authorities by autumn 2007, preparing parents of children in reception and year seven to cope with the wide range of possible challenges that their children may face. Parent Support Advisers are providing a preventative school based role to support parents in 977 schools in 20 local authorities, and we will look to spread practice widely through extended schools. 15 local authorities have been selected to receive a share of £5 million per annum for 2006-07 and 2007-08 to deliver Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinderstesting different parenting programmes for the families of eight to 13-year-olds at risk of antisocial behaviour. We are investing £10 million per annum to develop the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners. The academy will have a key role in improving practice, training and support for the parenting workforce.

Pre-school Education: Expenditure

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what total amount was spent on  (a) pre-school education and  (b) school nursery education in each of the last 20 years, at todays prices.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 April 2007
	The available information is contained within the following table which shows central and local government expenditure on under fives. Separate figures for pre-school education and school nursery education are not available. Capital expenditure is not included in these figures.
	
		
			   Expenditure 
			 1989-90 1,347 
			 1990-91 1,473 
			 1991-92 1,620 
			 1992-93 1,749 
			 1993-94 1,843 
			 1994-95 1,944 
			 1995-96 1,965 
			 1996-97 2,005 
			 1997-98 2,114 
			 1998-99 2,157 
			   
			 1999-2000 2,399 
			 2000-01 2,683 
			 2001-02 3,232 
			   
			 2002-03 3,291 
			 2003-04 3,657 
			 2004-05(1) 3,920 
			 2005-06(2) 4,010 
			 (1) Provisional. (2) Estimated.  Notes: 1. Figures within Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL). Excludes DfES administration costs and expenditure on other areas than education, for instance on children and families and on skills. Figures for 1998-99 onwards are resource-based. Central government figures for 1995-96 to 1997-98 are cash-based. 2. Differences between the totals above and the figures for Under 5s education spending in HM Treasurys PESA Report are the result of  (a) data coverage: the exclusion of AME items in the above table,  (b) definitional differences: Departmental administration costs and Ofsted spending on education are both classified as education spending under UN Classification of Functions of Government (COFOG) international definitionsthe above table excludes these,  (c) classifications made since Budget 2006 of Connexions spending to social protection and Adult Education spend to training in line with UN COFOG definitions,  (d) further minor data coverage and timing differences. 3. The recurrent local authority figures in this table are drawn from the Local Authority Expenditure table (Table 8.3 of the 2006 Departmental Report); the footnotes to that table set out the underlying data sources. The blank rows denote the changes from the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions education Revenue Outturn return (the RO1) to Section 52 Outturn Statements in 1999-2000 and arising from the review of the Section 52 categories in 2002-03 following the introduction of Consistent Financial Reporting to schools. 4. All figures have been converted to 2005-06 price levels using the 27 September 2006 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflators. 5. Central Government funding on grant-maintained schools has been apportioned to under-fives using pupil numbers. 6. Figures from 2003-04 onwards reflect the transfer of responsibility from the Department to LEAs of costs relating to teachers pensions. 7. Under five figures include education expenditure on Sure Start (Sure Start figures exclude current grant). 8. Sources of the figures in the table are as follows: 1997-98 to 2005-06 from the Education Select Committee table, 1995-96 to 1996-97 from the November 2005 Education Bulletin, 1993-94 to 1994-95 from the November 2004 Bulletin, 1989-90 to 1992-93 from the Departmental Reports.

Private Education: Charities

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria will be included in the public benefit test to enable private schools to satisfy the requirements for charitable status.

Jim Knight: holding answer 26 February 2007
	This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the Government Department responsible for the regulation of charities in England and Wales. The chief executive of the Charity Commission will write to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

School Exclusions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) children,  (b) children with special educational needs but no statement and  (c) children with statemented special educational needs were permanently excluded (i) from mainstream schools, (ii) from special schools, (iii) while on a dual placement scheme, (iv) while on a school action plan, (v) while on early years action plan, (vi) while on school action plus, (vii) while on early years action plus and (viii) while attending a pupil referral unit in each year from 1997 to 2006.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 30 January 2007
	The available information relating to permanent exclusions from maintained primary, secondary and all special schools is given in the table.
	There are quality issues with data on permanent exclusions from maintained primary, secondary and special schools. A significant number of schools are known to have under-reported the situation. The Department has carried out checking exercises in each year to confirm the overall number of permanent exclusions. However, this only confirmed the number of exclusions in each local authority area and did not include information on the characteristics of the excluded pupil, for example whether or not they have special educational needs. Figures provided in the first table are as reported by schools and are known to be incomplete.
	The range of indicators collected on excluded pupils does not include whether they were on dual placement.
	Figures provided here refer to the cases of exclusion, rather than the number of pupils excluded as some pupils were excluded more than once during the year.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and all special schools( 1,)( )( 2) : number of pe rm anent exclusions by special educational needs (SEN) 1997-98 to 2004-05( 3) England 
			   Maintained primary and secondary schools  All special schools 
			   Number of permanent exclusions  Percentage of school population( 4)  Number of permanent exclusions  Percentage of school population( 4) 
			  1997-98 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 1,700 1.21 550 0.60 
			 Pupils with SEN without statement and pupils with no SEN 10,030 0.14 20 0.35 
			 Total pupils 11,730 0.16 570 0.58 
			  
			  1998-99 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 1,530 1.04 390 0.43 
			 Pupils with SEN without statement and pupils with no SEN 8,460 0.11 40 0.72 
			 Total pupils 10,000 0.13 440 0.45 
			  
			 1999-2000 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 1,140 0.75 360 0.39 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements and pupils with no SEN 6,800 0.09 30 0.57 
			 Total pupils 7,940 0.10 380 0.40 
			  
			  2000-01( 3,)( )( 5) 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 540 0.35 n/a n/a 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements and pupils with no SEN 7,800 0.11 n/a n/a 
			 Total pupils 8,330 0.11 390 0.41 
			  
			  2001-02( 3) 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 760 0.51 280 0.31 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements and pupils with no SEN(6) 7,640 0.10 40 0.93 
			  Of which: 
			 Pupils with no SEN 3,350 0.05 40 0.95 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements(6) 4,290 0.32 * * 
			 Total pupils 8,400 0.11 320 0.34 
			  
			  2002-03( 3) 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 680 0.45 250 0.28 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements and pupils with no SEN(6) 7,190 0.09 20 0.49 
			  Of which: 
			 Pupils with no SEN 2,720 0.04 10 0.98 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements(6) 4,470 0.40 *  
			 Total pupils 7,870 0.10 270 0.29 
			  
			  2003-04( 3) 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 720 0.48 230 0.25 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements and pupils with no SEN(6) 8,130 0.11 30 0.99 
			  Of which: 
			 Pupils with no SEN 3,300 0.05 30 3.18 
			 Pupils at School Action 1,710 0.22 0 0.00 
			 Pupils at School Action Plus 3,130 0.89 * * 
			 Total pupils(7) 8,850 0.12 260 0.28 
			  
			  2004-05( 3) 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 570 0.40 210 0.23 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements and pupils with no SEN(6) 7,700 0.10 50 2.01 
			  Of which: 
			 Pupils with no SEN 3.520 0.06 40 10.23 
			 Pupils at School Action 1,580 0.20 0 0.00 
			 Pupils at School Action Plus 2,600 0.71 * * 
			 Total Pupils(7) 8.270 0.11 250 0.28 
			 * Less than five exclusions, or a rate based on less than five exclusions. n/a = Not available (due to quality concerns with the data). (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. (3) From 2000-01 onwards there are quality issues with permanent exclusions data. Schools are known to have under-reported the situation. The Department has carried out checking exercises to confirm the overall number of permanent exclusions in each local authority area but this did not extend to the characteristics of excluded pupils (such as SEN). Figures shown here are as reported by schools and are un-confirmed. Caution is recommended when interpreting this output. (4) The number of excluded pupils by SEN expressed as a percentage of the school population supported by same SEN provision (excluding dually registered pupils). (5) The SEN data reported by special schools for excluded pupils in 2000/01 is not sufficiently reliable or robust to be included here. (6) The introduction of the new code of practice means that the number of children with SEN without statements reported in 2000-01 and later are not directly comparable with earlier years. (7) Totals include those exclusions for which SEN (if any) was not known.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Schools Census 
		
	
	The first year for which information on exclusions from pupil referral units is available is the 2003-04 academic year. The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Pupil referral units: number of permanent exclusions by special educational needs (SEN) 2003-04 and 2004-05 England 
			   Number of permanent exclusions( 1)  Percentage of school population( 2) 
			  2003-04   
			 Pupils with statements of SEN3 10 0.26 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements and pupils with no SEN(3) 30 0.34 
			  O f which:   
			 Pupils with no SEN(3) 20 0.93 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements(3) 10 17 
			 Total pupils(4) 30 0.26 
			
			  2004-05   
			 Pupils with statements of SEN(3) 10 0.40 
			 Pupils with EN without statements and pupils with no SEN3 30 0.35 
			  O f which:   
			 Pupils with no SEN(5) 20 0.57 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements (6) 20 0.26 
			
			 Total pupils(4) 40 0.28 
			 (1) The number of permanent exclusions from Pupil Referral Units is derived from Termly Exclusions Survey returns. (2) The number of pupils In Pupil Referral Units by stag of SEN (to derive the percentage of school population) is sourced from Schools Census returns. (3) The school population number includes pupils with sole registration only. (4) The school population number includes those pupils with sole registration and pupil with other providers.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  Termly Exclusions Survey and Schools Census

Schools: Accidents

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many legal actions were brought against local and Central Government authorities as a consequence of accidents in schools in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many legal actions brought against local and Central Government authorities as a consequence of accidents in schools involved  (a) under-16s and  (b) under-18s in the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: We are not aware of any such actions against this Department. The Government do not collect figures on the number of actions brought against local authorities on accidents in schools, by age or otherwise. Insurers have told Parliament that claims for personal injury in schools are a very small proportion of all such claims to local authorities. Criminal prosecution of a school employer is even rarer.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers experienced physical abuse in their workplace in 2006.

Jim Knight: The number of assaults on school staff is not collected centrally.
	For the academic year 2004/05, information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. These reasons include physical assault against an adult.
	A local authority breakdown of the number of pupils who have been excluded from school (permanently or for a fixed period) for physical assault against an adult, together with total numbers of exclusions, is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools( 1,2) : permanent and fixed period exclusions for physical assault against an adult and total number of exclusions (all reasons)( 3)  numbers and rates per 1,000 pupils 2004/05by local authority area 
			Permanent exclusions 
			 Exclusions for physical assault against an adult  All permanent exclusions 
			Number of pupils on roll( 4)  Number  Exclusions per 1,000 pupils( 5)  Number  Exclusions per 1,000 pupils( 5) 
			   England( 6,)( )( 7) 7,606,040 1,270 0.17 9,400 1.24 
			
			   North East( 6) 398,660 90 0.23 460 1.16 
			 841 Darlington 15,404 * * 34 2.21 
			 840 Durham 75,863 16 0.21 91 1.20 
			 390 Gateshead 28,840 9 0.31 32 1.11 
			 805 Hartlepool 16,035 * * 22 1.37 
			 806 Middlesbrough 20,165 8 0.40 19 0.94 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 37,260 17 0.46 62 1.66 
			 392 North Tyneside 30,600 4 0.13 27 0.88 
			 929 Northumberland 50,547 9 0.18 72 1.42 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 24,083 4 0.17 24 1.00 
			 393 South Tyneside 23,762 12 0.51 44 1.85 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 30,857 8 0.26 21 0.68 
			 394 Sunderland 45,241 3 0.07 15 0.33 
			
			   North West( 6) 1,086,590 240 0.22 1,440 1.33 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 24,603 3 0.12 30 1.22 
			 890 Blackpool 21,190 9 0.42 59 2.78 
			 350 Bolton 45,797 6 0.13 62 1.35 
			 351 Bury 28,254 * * 33 1.17 
			 875 Cheshire 104,163 30 0.29 170 1.63 
			 909 Cumbria 76,831 11 0.14 64 0.83 
			 876 Halton 18.910 * * 45 2.38 
			 340 Knowsley 26,438 6 0.30 37 1.40 
			 888 Lancashire 173,101 63 0.36 273 1.58 
			 341 Liverpool 73,239 * * 80 1.09 
			 352 Manchester 65,644 27 0.41 84 1.28 
			 353 Oldham 40,513 7 0.17 39 0.96 
			 354 Rochdale 34,820 4 0.11 39 1.12 
			 355 Salford 32,960 16 0.49 86 2.61 
			 343 Sefton 45,132 5 0.11 33 0.73 
			 342 St. Helens 28,272 0 0.00 4 0.14 
			 356 Stockport 40,944 9 0.22 49 1.20 
			 357 Tameside 36,731 12 0.33 63 1.72 
			 358 Trafford 35,964 * * 17 0.47 
			 877 Warrington 32,137 6 0.19 45 1.40 
			 359 Wigan 48.712 12 0.25 69 1.42 
			 344 Wirral 52,231 * * 63 1.21 
			
			   Yorkshire and the Humber( 6) 806,660 150 0.19 840 1.04 
			 370 Barnsley 34.496 * * 4 0.12 
			 380 Bradford 86,686 7 0.08 61 0.70 
			 381 Calderdale 34,765 4 0.12 46 1.32 
			 371 Don caster 50,302 17 0.34 91 1.81 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 50,036 6 0.12 30 0.60 
			 810 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 39,262 34 0.87 84 2.14 
			 382 Kirklees 63,113 8 0.13 60 0.95 
			 383 Leeds 111,538 24 0.22 120 1.08 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 26,023 4 0.15 62 2.38 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 25,047 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 815 North Yorkshire 88.139 9 0.10 62 0.70 
			 372 Rotherham 45,113 7 0.16 27 0.60 
			 373 Sheffield 75,753 16 0.21 97 1.28 
			 384 Wakefield 52,231 4 0.08 50 0.96 
			 816 York 24,159 5 0.21 42 1.74 
			
			   East Midlands( 6) 667,600 160 0.24 970 1.46 
			 831 Derby 37,832 14 0.37 85 2.25 
			 830 Derbyshire 115,455 19 0.16 136 1.18 
			 856 Leicester 47.168 22 0.47 79 1.67 
			 855 Leicestershire 96.577 20 0.21 133 1.38 
			 925 Lincolnshire 102,884 20 0.19 182 1.77 
			 928 Northamptonshire 103,694 34 0.33 138 1.33 
			 892 Nottingham 38.195 16 0.42 73 1.91 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 120,891 18 0.15 147 1.22 
			 857 Rutland 4.907 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			
			   West Midlands( 6) 864,790 120 0.14 1,060 1.22 
			 330 Birmingham 175.226 37 0.21 364 2.08 
			 331 Coventry 49,307 * * 6 0.12 
			 332 Dudley 50,251 7 0.14 91 1.81 
			 884 Herefordshire 24,005 7 0.29 27 1.12 
			 333 Sandwell 50.581 4 0.08 68 1.34 
			 893 Shropshire 40,761 5 0.12 35 0.86 
			 334 Solihull 36,360 7 0.19 57 1.57 
			 860 Staffordshire 128,800 20 0.16 144 1.12 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 36,594 3 0.08 13 0.36 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin 26,491 10 0.38 39 1.47 
			 335 Walsall 48,005 5 0.10 25 0.52 
			 937 Warwickshire 76,698 10 0.13 146 1.90 
			 336 Wolverhampton 40.675 * * 18 0.44 
			 885 Worcestershire 81,031 * * 26 0.32 
			
			   East of England( 6) 842,380 110 0.13 930 1.11 
			 820 Bedfordshire 63,800 11 0.17 126 1.97 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 77,582 * * 5 0.06 
			 881 Essex 201,078 45 0.22 203 1.01 
			 919 Hertfordshire 174,931 12 0.07 237 1.35 
			 821 Luton 31,075 5 0.16 31 1.00 
			 926 Norfolk 113,477 5 0.04 96 0.85 
			 874 Peterborough 28,680 * * 30 1.05 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 27,270 5 0.18 37 1.36 
			 935 Suffolk 101,555 20 0.20 148 1.46 
			 883 Thurrock 22,936 4 0.17 20 0.87 
			
			   London( 6,)( )( 7) 1,060,180 160 0.15 1,510 1.43 
			
			   Inner London( 6,)( )( 7) 360,840 60 0.17 420 1.18 
			 202 Camden 21,565 3 0.14 14 0.65 
			 201 City of London(7) 224 n/a n/a * * 
			 204 Hackney 25,572 5 0.20 28 1.09 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 17,102 * * 15 0.88 
			 309 Haringey 33,565 7 0.21 28 0.83 
			 206 Islington 22.694 4 0.18 9 0.40 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 10,664 5 0.47 17 1.59 
			 208 Lambeth 28,220 0 0.00 41 1.45 
			 209 Lewisham 34,117 * * 23 0.67 
			 316 Newham 48,646 10 0.21 84 1.73 
			 210 Southwark 33,760 6 0.18 36 1.07 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 36,728 7 0.19 41 1.12 
			 212 Wandsworth 28,286 4 0.14 53 1.87 
			 213 Westminster 19,693 3 0.15 34 1.73 
			
			   Outer London( 6,7) 699,350 100 0.14 1,090 1.56 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 31,005 13 0.42 45 1.45 
			 302 Barnet 45,939 12 0.26 57 1.24 
			 303 Bexley 39,513 5 0.13 62 1.57 
			 304 Brent 39,396 15 0.38 85 2.16 
			 305 Bromley 46,894 * * 56 1.19 
			 306 Croydon 49,099 4 0.08 102 2.08 
			 307 Ealing 41,644 7 0.17 79 1.90 
			 308 Enfield 49,670 * * 62 1.25 
			 203 Greenwich 36,303 19 0.52 110 3.03 
			 310 Harrow 28,772 3 0.10 51 1.77 
			 311 Havering 36.568 4 0.11 40 1.09 
			 312 Hillingdon 42,027 4 0.10 57 1.36 
			 313 Hounslow 35,840 0 0.00 77 2.15 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 21.431 * * 6 0.28 
			 315 Merton 23,547 4 0.17 33 1.40 
			 317 Redbridge 44.622 5 0.11 60 1.34 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 20,108 0 0.00 22 1.09 
			 319 Sutton 31,277 * * 26 0.83 
			 320 Waltham Forest (7) 35.692 n/a n/a 60 1.68 
			
			   South East( 6) 1,161,570 160 0.14 1,400 1.20 
			 867 Bracknell Forest 15,119 * * 43 2.84 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 29,961 11 0.37 37 1.23 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 75,866 4 0.05 46 0.61 
			 845 East Sussex 66.612 16 0.24 110 1.65 
			 850 Hampshire 173,289 17 0.10 162 0.93 
			 921 Isle of Wight 19.586 * * 8 0.41 
			 886 Kent 212,811 25 0.12 356 1.67 
			 887 Medway 43,998 7 0.16 54 1.23 
			 826 Milton Keynes 36,186 6 0.17 50 1.38 
			 931 Oxfordshire 85,281 6 0.07 35 0.41 
			 851 Portsmouth 24,722 6 0.24 20 0.81 
			 870 Reading 16,522 7 0.42 27 1.63 
			 871 Slough 20,274 * * 10 0.49 
			 852 Southampton 28,576 9 0.31 31 1.08 
			 936 Surrey 140,069 19 0.14 154 1.10 
			 869 West Berkshire 24.626 3 0.12 31 1.26 
			 938 West Sussex 105,642 12 0.11 159 1.51 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 18,984 * * 31 1.63 
			 872 Wokingham 23,444 5 0.21 35 1.49 
			
			   South West( 6) 717,610 70 0.10 780 1.09 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 25,161 * * 40 1.59 
			 837 Bournemouth 20,891 * * 23 1.10 
			 801 Bristol, City of 46,702 * * 51 1.09 
			 908 Cornwall 73,227 4 0.05 118 1.61 
			 878 Devon 97,698 4 0.04 64 0.66 
			 835 Dorset 55,849 5 0.09 46 0.82 
			 916 Gloucestershire 85,937 12 0.14 90 1.05 
			 420 Isles of Scilly 251 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 802 North Somerset 28,141 * * 17 0.60 
			 879 Plymouth 39.243 7 0.18 43 1.10 
			 836 Poole 19,305 * * 20 1.04 
			 933 Somerset 71.328 12 0.17 72 1.01 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 39,981 3 0.08 68 1.70 
			 866 Swindon 28,735 6 0.21 28 0.97 
			 880 Torbay 19,625 * * 14 0.71 
			 865 Wiltshire 65,540 11 0.17 87 1.33 
		
	
	
		
			Fixed period exclusions 
			 Exclusions for physical assault against an adult  All fixed period exclusions 
			Number of pupils on roll( 4)  Number  Exclusions per 1,000 pupils( 5)  Number  Exclusions per 1,000 pupils( 5) 
			   England( 6,)( )( 7) 7,606,040 18,480 2.43 389,560 51.22 
			
			   North East( 6) 398,660 830 2.08 17,580 44.09 
			 841 Darlington 15.404 78 5.06 1,425 92.51 
			 840 Durham 75,863 145 1.91 4,804 63.32 
			 390 Gateshead 28,840 41 1.42 712 24.69 
			 805 Hartlepool 16,035 10 0.62 591 36.86 
			 806 Middlesbrough 20.165 37 1.83 732 36.30 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 37,260 106 2.84 1,928 51.74 
			 392 North Tyneside 30.600 50 1.63 758 24.77 
			 929 Northumberland 50,547 98 1.94 2,448 48.43 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 24.083 44 1.63 877 36.42 
			 393 South Tyneside 23,762 49 2.06 1,067 44.90 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 30,857 120 3.89 1,051 34.06 
			 394 Sunderland 45,241 54 1.19 1,183 26.15 
			
			   North West( 6) 1,086,590 2,700 2.48 56,720 52.20 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 24,603 108 4.39 1.395 56.70 
			 890 Blackpool 21,190 63 2.97 1,436 67.77 
			 350 Bolton 45,797 133 2.90 2,997 65.44 
			 351 Bury 28,254 68 2.41 1.776 62.86 
			 875 Cheshire 104,163 249 2.39 8,272 60.21 
			 909 Cumbria 76,831 139 1.81 5,458 71.04 
			 876 Halton 18,910 27 1.43 565 29.88 
			 340 Knowsley 26,438 110 4.16 1.025 38.77 
			 888 Lancashire 173,101 476 2.75 9,483 54.78 
			 341 Liverpool 73,239 95 1.30 1,829 24.97 
			 352 Manchester 65,644 358 5.45 4,416 67.27 
			 353 Oldham 40,513 91 2.25 2,639 65.14 
			 354 Rochdale 34,820 87 2.50 1,782 51.18 
			 355 Salford 32,960 102 3.09 1,979 60.04 
			 343 Sefton 45.132 27 0.60 539 11.94 
			 342 St. Helens 28,272 42 1.49 1,412 49.94 
			 356 Stockport 40,944 102 2.49 2,349 57.37 
			 357 Tameside 36,731 107 2.91 2,420 65.88 
			 358 Trafford 35,964 50 1.39 1.256 34.92 
			 877 Warrington 32,137 74 2.30 2,066 64.29 
			 359 Wigan 48.712 174 3.57 2,582 53.01 
			 344 Wirral 52,231 22 0.42 1,040 19.91 
			
			   Yorkshire and the Humber( 6) 806,660 2,340 2.90 47,650 59.07 
			 370 Barnsley 34,496 71 2.06 1,429 41.43 
			 380 Bradford 86,686 236 2.72 4,095 47.24 
			 381 Calderdale 34,765 91 2.62 1,663 47.84 
			 371 Don caster 50,302 149 2.96 3,087 61.37 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 50,036 100 2.00 2,550 50.96 
			 810 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 39,262 288 7.34 3,105 79.08 
			 382 Kirklees 63,113 197 3.12 3,781 59.91 
			 383 Leeds 111,538 368 3.30 7.610 68.23 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 26,023 99 3.80 2,310 88.77 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 25,047 71 2.83 1,936 77.29 
			 815 North Yorkshire 88.139 164 1.86 3,609 40.95 
			 372 Rotherham 45,113 164 3.64 2,223 49.28 
			 373 Sheffield 75,753 157 2.07 5,094 67.24 
			 384 Wakefield 52,231 138 2.64 3,796 72.68 
			 816 York 24,159 48 1.99 1,356 56.21 
			
			  East Midlands(6) 667,600 1,790 2.68 34,610 51.84 
			 831 Derby 37,832 99 2.62 2.595 68.59 
			 830 Derbyshire 115,455 226 1.96 5,003 43.33 
			 856 Leicester 47,168 108 2.29 3,028 64.20 
			 855 Leicestershire 96,577 167 1.73 4.084 42.29 
			 925 Lincolnshire 102,884 257 2.50 4,468 43.43 
			 928 Northamptonshire 103.694 381 3.67 6,277 60.53 
			 892 Nottingham 38,195 241 6.31 2.264 59.27 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 120,891 300 2.48 6,728 55.65 
			 857 Rutland 4,907 9 1.83 159 32.40 
			
			   West Midlands( 6) 864,790 2,170 2.51 41,210 47.66 
			 330 Birmingham 175,226 505 2.88 8,304 47.39 
			 331 Coventry 49,307 142 2.88 1,474 29.89 
			 332 Dudley 50.251 66 1.31 2.838 58.48 
			 884 Herefordshire 24.005 62 2.58 1,503 62.61 
			 333 Sandwell 50,581 120 2.37 2,167 42.84 
			 893 Shropshire 40,761 93 2.28 2,231 54.73 
			 334 Solihull 36,360 70 1.93 1.683 46.29 
			 860 Staffordshire 128,800 172 1.34 5,702 44.27 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 36,594 136 3.72 2.409 65.83 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin 26,491 284 10.72 2,319 87.54 
			 335 Walsall 48,005 127 2.65 2,765 57.60 
			 937 Warwickshire 76,698 119 1.55 3,022 39.40 
			 336 Wolverhampton 40,675 55 1.35 1,263 31.05 
			 885 Worcestershire 81,031 221 2.73 3,533 43.60 
			
			   East of England( 6) 842,380 1,650 1.96 40,860 48.51 
			 820 Bedfordshire 63,800 115 1.80 2,519 39.48 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 77,582 89 1.15 2,507 32.31 
			 881 Essex 201,078 472 2.35 12,213 60.74 
			 919 Hertfordshire 174,931 249 1.42 6,731 38.48 
			 821 Luton 31.075 72 2.32 1,247 40.13 
			 926 Norfolk 113,477 177 1.56 5,615 49.48 
			 874 Peterborough 28,680 54 1.88 1,487 51.85 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 27,270 132 4.84 1.483 54.38 
			 935 Suffolk 101.555 214 2.11 5,307 52.26 
			 883 Thurrock 22,936 71 3.10 1,751 76.34 
			
			   London( 6,)( )( 7) 1,060,180 2,490 2.35 42,850 40.41 
			
			   Inner London( 6,)( )( 7) 360,840 1,110 3.08 14,110 39.09 
			 202 Camden 21,565 69 3.20 1,017 47.16 
			 201 City of London(7) 224 0 0.00 __  
			 204 Hackney 25,572 143 5.59 1.244 48.65 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 17,102 55 3.22 809 47.30 
			 309 Haringey 33,565 121 3.60 1,647 49.07 
			 206 Islington 22,694 87 3.83 526 23.18 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 10.664 25 2.34 341 31.98 
			 208 Lambeth 28,220 34 1.20 1,092 38.70 
			 209 Lewisham 34,117 103 3.02 1,313 38.49 
			 316 Newham 48,646 39 0.80 1,138 23.39 
			 210 Southwark 33,760 119 3.52 1,235 36.58 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 36,728 100 2.72 1,255 34.17 
			 212 Wandsworth 28,286 157 5.55 1,575 55.68 
			 213 Westminster 19,693 61 3.10 913 46.36 
			
			   Outer London( 6,)( )( 7) 699,350 1,370 1.96 28,740 41.09 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 31.005 79 2.55 824 26.58 
			 302 Barnet 45,939 86 1.87 1,494 32.52 
			 303 Bexley 39,513 53 1.34 1,715 43.40 
			 304 Brent 39,396 108 2.74 1,863 47.29 
			 305 Bromley 46.894 40 0.85 1.954 41.67 
			 306 Croydon 49,099 94 1.91 1,307 26.62 
			 307 Ealing 41,644 68 1.63 2,003 48.10 
			 308 Enfield 49.670 110 2.21 2,053 41.33 
			 203 Greenwich 36,303 227 6.25 2,745 75.61 
			 310 Harrow 28,772 47 1.63 1,090 37.88 
			 311 Havering 36,568 44 1.20 1,824 49.88 
			 312 Hillingdon 42,027 65 1.55 1,135 27.01 
			 313 Hounslow 35,840 0 0.00 1,271 35.46 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 21,431 15 0.70 704 32.85 
			 315 Merton 23.547 77 3.27 1.278 54.27 
			 317 Redbridge 44,622 29 0.65 445 9.97 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 20.108 22 1.09 904 44.96 
			 319 Sutton 31.277 43 1.37 1,441 46.07 
			 320 Waltham Forest (7) 35,692 167 4.68 2,689 75.34 
			
			   South East( 6) 1,161,570 2,810 2.42 67,820 58.39 
			 867 Bracknell Forest 15.119 18 1.19 672 44.45 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 29,961 147 4.91 2,206 73.63 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 75,866 123 1.62 2,409 31.75 
			 845 East Sussex 66,612 262 3.93 5,937 89.13 
			 850 Hampshire 173,289 449 2.59 11,727 67.67 
			 921 Isle of Wight 19,586 47 2.40 1,008 51.47 
			 886 Kent 212,811 353 1.66 11.895 55.89 
			 887 Medway 43.998 139 3.16 2,830 64.32 
			 826 Milton Keynes 36,186 32 0.88 1,136 31.39 
			 931 Oxfordshire 85,281 221 2.59 4.305 50.48 
			 851 Portsmouth 24,722 209 8.45 2,982 120.62 
			 870 Reading 16,522 69 4.18 1,046 63.31 
			 871 Slough 20.274 32 1.58 537 26.49 
			 852 Southampton 28,576 159 5.56 2,869 101.10 
			 936 Surrey 140,069 210 1.50 7.114 50.79 
			 869 West Berkshire 24.626 38 1.54 1,578 64.08 
			 938 West Sussex 105,642 228 2.16 5,800 54.90 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 18,984 20 1.05 701 36.93 
			 872 Wokingham 23,444 49 2.09 1.047 44.66 
			
			   South West( 6) 717,610 1,710 2.38 40,280 56.13 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 25,161 40 1.59 1,804 71.70 
			 837 Bournemouth 20,891 45 2.15 1,116 53.42 
			 801 Bristol, City of 46,702 297 6.36 5,609 120.10 
			 908 Cornwall 73,227 85 1.16 3,161 43.17 
			 878 Devon 97,698 201 2.06 5,678 58.12 
			 835 Dorset 55,849 39 0.70 1,684 30.15 
			 916 Gloucestershire 85.937 123 1.43 3,487 40.58 
			 420 Isles of Scilly 251 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 802 North Somerset 28,141 94 3.34 1,441 51.21 
			 879 Plymouth 39,243 96 2.45 1,392 35.47 
			 836 Poole 19,305 69 3.57 1,335 69.15 
			 933 Somerset 71,328 206 2.89 4,308 60.40 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 39,981 67 1.68 2,357 58.95 
			 866 Swindon 28,735 143 4.98 2,185 76.04 
			 880 Torbay 19,625 79 4.03 970 49.43 
			 865 Wiltshire 65,540 126 1.92 3,753 57.26 
			 * = Less than three, or a rate based on less than three.  = Less than five, or a rate based on less than five. n/a = Not available. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes maintained special schools, excludes non-maintained special schools. (3) The distribution of exclusions by reason has been derived from the Termly Exclusions survey and applied to the number of permanent exclusions as confirmed by local authorities as part of the school census checking exercise. (4) The number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) in January 2005. (5) The number of exclusions in 2004/05 divided by how many thousands of pupils were on roll in January 2005. (6) National and regional totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. Totals as shown may not equal the sum of constituent parts. (7) The reasons for permanent exclusions are not available for Waltham Forest and City of London.  Source: School Census and Termly Exclusions Survey

Schools: Nottinghamshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which 10 schools in Nottinghamshire have the highest percentage of Gypsy and Traveller children on their rolls.

Jim Knight: holding answer 20 April 2007
	 The information requested is shown in the tables.
	The figures for Travellers of Irish heritage and Gypsy/Roma children need to be interpreted with caution due to the small numbers recorded.
	
		
			  10 schools which have the highest percentage of pupils who are classified as Gypsy/Roma ethnic origin( 1,)( )( 2) January 2006Nottinghamshire 
			  URN  LA number  Estab. number  School name  Number of pupils classified as Gypsy/Roma ethnic origin  Percentage of pupils classified as Gypsy/Roma ethnic origin( 3) 
			 122747 891 3040 Mount CofE Primary and Nursery School 44 32.6 
			 122822 891 3770 St. Josephs Catholic Primary and Nursery School 21 13.6 
			 122771 891 3145 Walesby CofE Primary School 14 8.9 
			 122737 891 2933 Ryton Park Primary School 11 5.1 
			 132784 891 3292 Bowbridge Primary School 12 3.6 
			 122611 891 2673 Manners Sutton Primary School * * 
			 122593 891 2526 Hawtonville Junior School 5 1.9 
			 131360 891 4583 Magnus CofE School 17 1.5 
			 122595 891 2532 Lovers Lane Primary and Nursery School * * 
			 122580 891 2444 Jacksdale Primary and Nursery School 3 1.2 
			 * = Less than 3, or a rate based on less than 3. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Pupils of compulsory school age and above were classified according to ethnic group. Excludes dually registered pupils. (3) The number of pupils by ethnic group expressed as a percentage of all pupils of compulsory school age and above.  Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			  10 schools which have the highest percentage of pupils who are classified as Traveller of Irish heritage ethnic origin( 1,2) January 2006Nottinghamshire 
			  URN  LA number  Estab. number  School name  Number of pupils classified as Traveller of Irish heritage ethnic origin  Percentage of pupils classified as Traveller of Irish heritage ethnic origin( 3) 
			 122645 891 2751 Queen Eleanor Primary School 3 9.4 
			 122594 891 2527 Oliver Quibell Infant School * * 
			 130996 891 7041 Newark Orchard School * * 
			 133279 891 3299 Ladybrook Primary School 3 2.2 
			 131360 891 4583 Magnus CofE School 12 1.1 
			 122812 891 3696 The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary, Arnold * * 
			 122578 891 2436 Selston Bagthorpe Primary School * * 
			 122730 891 2926 Prospect Hill Junior School * * 
			 122670 891 2812 Radcliffe-on-Trent Junior School * * 
			 122582 891 2460 Annie Holgate Junior School * * 
			 * = Less than 3, or a rate based on less than 3. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Pupils of compulsory school age and above were classified according to ethnic group. Excludes dually registered pupils. (3) The number of pupils by ethnic group expressed as a percentage of all pupils of compulsory school age and above.  Source: School Census

Schools: Private Finance Initiative

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations his Department has received from  (a) schools and  (b) local authorities on concerns about private finance initiative contracts with schools; and what meetings have taken place at a departmental level on this issue.

Jim Knight: The Department works directly with schools and authorities, and also with and through a range of bodies, including HM Treasury, Partnerships UK, Partnerships for Schools and the 4ps, to understand and address the concerns that schools and authorities may have from time to time about private finance initiative contracts for schools. Our aim is to ensure that schools get from private finance initiative contracts the excellent service they deserve. Private finance initiatives were introduced for schools in 1998, and contacts with authorities, schools and with other bodies have been a part of the everyday work of the Department since then.
	In 2005, we published a report which we commissioned from Partnerships UK on operational schools private finance initiative contracts, which is available at www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9262. This report found that, on balance, contracts were operating successfully across most of their provision, and that there were some strong examples of good delivery. It made suggestions for improvements, all of which had already been, or subsequently were, acted upon. Further, we have worked with HM Treasury to enable Partnerships UK to act as a taskforce helpdesk for schools which have concerns or difficulties with their private finance initiative contracts. Department officials also continue to work directly with schools and authorities where needed.
	In the past year, directly or through Partnerships UK and other bodies, representations have included benchmarking and market testing; support during the transition to operational status; variations to contract; dispute resolution and poor performance; availability of other schools capital funding; schools changing status while in a PFI contract. Officials also recently met the Association of Schools and College Leaders to discuss a similar range of issues.

Schools: Yorkshire

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on how many occasions pupils at each state secondary school in Yorkshire have been excluded for having been found to be in possession of  (a) a weapon and  (b) narcotics on school premises in each of the last two years.

Jim Knight: The requested information is not available.
	From the academic year 2003/04, information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. The reason for exclusion is described by one of 12 set categories. There is no specific category relating to possession of a weapon or possession of narcotics.
	A table showing the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions from each maintained secondary school in Yorkshire and the Humber region during 2003/04 and 2004/05 has been placed in the House Library.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority secondary curriculum review is based  (a) wholly and  (b) in part on an outcome-based educational approach.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 April 2007
	The purpose of all education is to achieve outcomes or results. The secondary curriculum review is based upon the need for all young people to acquire prescribed subject knowledge, skills and understanding including high level skills in literacy, numeracy and scientific understanding; to develop a knowledge of British history and an understanding of our place in the world; and to understand contemporary issues which shape the international context for the next generation.
	The secondary curriculum review also seeks to provide all young people with the skills to continue to learn throughout life; to be inquisitive, independent thinkers; to be problem solvers; and team workers.
	If that is what is meant by an outcome-based educational approach then the secondary curriculum review can be said to be outcome based.
	If however, an outcome-based educational approach is defined as a curriculum which is content-free; lacking in rigour; entirely skills based; and not specific and particular about cognitive content, then that is most definitely not the approach upon which the secondary curriculum review is based.

Teachers: Pay

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what teachers'  (a) starting salary,  (b) salary after seven years employment and  (c) average pay was in each of the last 30 years; and what the percentage change was in each year at today's prices.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 April 2007
	To derive figures for a 30-year time period for starting salaries and salaries after seven years employment would be at disproportionate cost.
	The average salary figures for  (a) newly qualified entrants and  (b) teachers with between seven and eight years experience for both March 1997 and March 2005 (provisional), expressed in cash and real terms in 2005-06 prices, for England and Wales is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Average salaries in cash and real terms 
			   March 1997  March (provisional)  
			   Cash (£)  Real (£)  Cash (£)  Real (£)  Real terms difference (Percentage) 
			 Newly qualified entrants in England and Wales(1) 14.560 18,080 19,730 20,100 11 
			 Between 7 and 8 years experience(2) 22,520 27,970 32,060 32,660 17 
			 (1) Teachers qualifying through college based routes in England or Wales in the previous calendar year in full-time regular service the following March. (2) Includes only teachers on the main and upper pay scale.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Real term figures based on latest GDP deflators (21 March 2007) from HMT shown in 2005-06 prices. 
		
	
	Average salaries are used to answer parts  (a) and  (b) because there are, in fact, no set salaries for those starting teaching or those with seven years' experience.
	In relation to part  (c), average salary figures over the last 30 years for teachers are available and are shown in the following table in both cash and real terms, with percentage year on year and cumulative changes, for England and Wales.
	
		
			  Year( 1)  Average salary in cash terms( 2)  (£)  Salaries in 2005-06 terms (£)  Yearly real terms increase/decrease (Percentage)  Cumulative real terms increase/decrease (Percentage) 
			 1975 3,110 21,400   
			 1976 3,960 21,710 1 1 
			 1977 4,330 20,920 -4 -2 
			 1978 4,560 19,370 -7 -9 
			 1979 5,320 20,370 5 -5 
			 1980 6,090 19,940 -2 -7 
			 1981 7,640 21,160 6 -1 
			 1982 8,300 21,010 -1 -2 
			 1983 8,890 21,000 0 -2 
			 1984 9,400 21,230 1 -1 
			 1985 9,950 21,340 1 0 
			 1986 11,020 22,410 5 5 
			 1987 12,860 25,340 13 18 
			 1988 14,640 27,310 8 28 
			 1989 14,380 25,080 -8 17 
			 1990 15,520 25,260 1 18 
			 1991 17,140 25,860 2 21 
			 1992 19,230 27,350 6 28 
			 1993 20,750 28,590 5 34 
			 1994 20,970 28,160 -2 32 
			 1995 20,510 27,130 -4 27 
			 1996 20,990 26,940 -1 26 
			 1997 21,670 26,910 0 26 
			 1998 22,210 26,800 0 25 
			 1999 23,080 27,160 1 27 
			 2000 23,980 27,660 2 29 
			 2001 25,540 29,050 5 36 
			 2002 26,880 29,870 3 40 
			 2003 28,500 30,720 3 44 
			 2004 29,590 30,970 1 45 
			 2005(1) 30,590 31,160 1 46 
			 (1 )Data from March that year. (2) Excludes those in leadership/head teacher positions and particular grades outside of the main and upper pay scales in the years where this is appropriate. (3) Provisional.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. 2. Real terms figures based on latest GDP deflators (21 March 2007) from HMT shown in 2005-06 prices.

Textbooks: ICT

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what resources he  (a) has made and  (b) plans to make available to increase the number of required school textbooks available in an electronic format.

Jim Knight: The Department does not require schools to use particular textbooks and teachers typically use a range of different resources to support delivery of the curriculum. The electronic availability of commonly used textbooks is a matter for publishers.

HEALTH

Cancer: Waiting Lists

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what percentage of cases her Department's  (a) 31 and  (b) 62 day waiting time targets for cancer diagnosis, referral and treatment were met by each hospital in London in the last period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested can be found in the following tables. The figures are taken from the period 2006-07.
	
		
			  2005-06 Q2 31day diag nosis-treatment  (all cancers) 
			  SHA  Quarter  Year  Trust code  Trust  Referral via 2WW  Referral via other  Treat 31  Treat 32 to 38  Treat 39 to 48  Treat 49 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 39 232 271 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAN Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 6 25 31 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 34 101 135 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 39 126 165 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 73 108 180 1 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 22 53 75 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 239 290 529 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 24 66 90 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 94 108 202 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 66 108 174 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RGC Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 64 114 178 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 25 55 80 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ1 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 199 378 574 1 2 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 24 37 61 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ5 St Mary's NHS Trust 41 104 145 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 77 93 168 1 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ7 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 127 244 371 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 54 180 233 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RKE The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 42 54 96 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RNH Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 26 43 69 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RNJ Barts and the London NHS Trust 95 240 335 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RP4 Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust 0 27 27 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RP6 Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 0 13 11 1 1 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 144 304 447 1 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 16 56 72 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQN Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 92 275 365 1 1 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 21 39 60 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RRV University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 49 281 330 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RT3 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust 15 55 70 0 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 76 213 287 1 0 1 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 101 220 320 1 0 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RVR Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 97 174 271 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  SHA  Quarter  Year  Trust code  Trust  Treat 63  Treat 77  Treat 91  Treat 10  Total treated  P erformance  (Percentage) 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 271 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAN Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 31 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 135 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 165 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 181 99.4 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 75 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 529 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 90 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 202 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 174 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RGC Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 178 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 80 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ1 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 577 99.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 61 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ5 St Mary's NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 145 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 1 0 0 0 170 98.8 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ7 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 371 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1 0 0 0 234 99.6 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RKE The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 96 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RNH Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 69 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RNJ Barts and the London NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 335 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RP4 Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 27 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RP6 Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 13 84.6 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 448 99.8 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 72 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQN Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 367 99.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 60 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RRV University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 330 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RT3 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 70 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 289 99.3 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 321 99.7 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RVR Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 271 100.0 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 Q2 62 referral-treatment (all cancers) 
			  SHA  Quarter  Year  Accountable trust code  Accountable trust  31 or less  32 to 38  3 9 to 48  49 to 62  63 to 76 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 24 4.5 7 2.5 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAN Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 0 0.5 1 2 0.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 4 4.5 5.5 16 0.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 19 9.5 6 6.5 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 25.5 5.5 16 19.5 0.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 9 4.5 4 8 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 83 31 48.5 85.5 0.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 3.5 5 6 13 0.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 36 6 16 42 1 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 29.5 10 16 15.5 2.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RGC Whipps cross University Hospital NHS Trust 27 8.5 17.5 21.5 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 10.5 6 8 6.5 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ1 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 26 19 25 61.5 3.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 16 3 9 12 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ5 St Mary's NHS Trust 25.5 7 2.5 9 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 30 15 21.5 21 2.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ7 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 42.5 17 14.5 39 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 17 6 9 13.5 3.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RKE The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 20 5.5 4 12 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RNH Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 5 2 6 13 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RNJ Barts and the London NHS Trust 17.5 6.5 17 24 0.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 29 13 25 25 4 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 7 2.5 2 5 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQN Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 16.5 11.5 11.5 28.5 2 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 6.5 4 5.5 10.5 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RRV University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation trust 7 4.5 7.5 19.5 0.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RT3 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust 2 0.5 2.5 3.5 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 30.5 13 13 24.5 0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 36 12 23 35 0.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RVR Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 50 18.5 18.5 30 0 
		
	
	
		
			  SHA  Quarter  Year  Trust code  Trust  77 to 90  91 to 104  105+  Total treated  =62 days  Performance (Percentage) 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 0 0 0 38 38 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAN Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 4 3.5 87.5 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAP North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 0 1 0.5 32 30 93.8 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAS The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 41 41 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RAX Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 0 1 0 68 66.5 97.8 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RC3 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 25.5 25.5 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 2 250.5 248 99.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RFW West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 28 27.5 98.2 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RG2 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 0.5 0.5 0 102 100 98.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RG3 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 1.5 1.5 0 76.5 71 92.8 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RGC Whipps cross University Hospital NHS Trust 1.5 0.5 0 76.5 74.5 97.4 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RGZ Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 0 0.5 0 31.5 31 98.4 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ1 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 2.5 2.5 0 140 131.5 93.9 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ2 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 40 40 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ5 St Mary's NHS Trust 0 0 1.5 45.5 44 96.7 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ6 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 0 3 0.5 93.5 87.5 93.6 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJ7 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0.5 0 1.5 115 113 98.3 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RJZ King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2.5 1 3.5 56 45.5 81.3 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RKE The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 1 0 1 43.5 41.5 95.4 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RNH Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 1 0 0 27 26 96.3 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RNJ Barts and the London NHS Trust 0.5 1.5 0 67.5 65 96.3 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 0 1 1.5 98.5 92 93.4 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQM Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 16.5 16.5 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQN Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 1 0 0 71 68 95.8 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RQX Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 0 1 0 27.5 26.5 96.4 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RRV University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation trust 0 0 1 40 38.5 96.3 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RT3 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust 0 0 0 8.5 8.5 100.0 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 1 82 81 98.8 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 1 0 0.5 108 106 98.1 
			 Q36 Q3 2006-07 RVR Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0.5 0.5 0 118 117 99.2

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many faecal occult blood testing kits have been distributed by each hub participating in the NHS bowel cancer screening programme; how many have been returned and analysed; how many returned kits were positive; how many individuals were subsequently referred for further investigation; what the take-up rate was of individuals referred for further investigation; how many individuals subsequently underwent a colonoscopy; and how many individuals were subsequently diagnosed with bowel cancer.

Rosie Winterton: There are five bowel screening programme hubs in England and their activity, as at 26 March 2007, is set out in the following table. It shows: how many invitations have been sent out to those aged 60 to 69; the screening age group, in each hub's local area; how many people aged 70 and over have self referred and opted in to the programme; how many faecal occult blood (FOB) test kits were sent out by each hub; how many of the FOB kits were returned; and how many of these gave a positive result.
	
		
			  Programme hubs  Invitations sent to 60 to 69s  Opt-in over 70s  Test kits sent  Returned kits  Positive results 
			 Midlands and North West (Rugby) 77,573 2,524 71,196 39,064 767 
			 Southern (Guildford) 20,988 311 18,775 10,402 118 
			 London (St. Mark's) 28,579 230 25,407 8,553 199 
			 North East (Gateshead) 21,191 338 15,883 4,992 39 
			 Eastern (Nottingham) 1,086 3 745 77 0 
			 Total 149,417 3,456 132,006 63,088 1,123 
		
	
	All individuals with a positive FOB test kit result are invited to attend a FOB test positive clinic. As of 26 March 2007, 959 people had attended a clinic. At the clinic, a screening nurse assesses the person's suitability to undergo colonoscopy. The number of colonoscopies undertaken was 664, giving a colonoscopy uptake rate of 69 per cent.
	The following table shows the colonoscopies broken down by screening centre, as of 26 March 2007.
	
		
			  Local screening centre  Screening nurse clinic attendance  Colonoscopies 
			 Wolverhampton 226 147 
			 Norwich 265 237 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 174 120 
			 Bolton 3 0 
			 Gloucestershire 18 1 
			 South Devon 92 70 
			 Solent and West Sussex 0 0 
			 St. Mark's, London 108 69 
			 Inner North East London 0 0 
			 St. George's, London 50 20 
			 University College London 0 0 
			 Tees 8 0 
			 South of Tyne 12 0 
			 Hull 3 0 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 
			 Total 959 664 
		
	
	101 cancers have so far been diagnosed, but these cannot be broken down by screening centre for patient confidentiality reasons. 342 patients were diagnosed with polyps which may have developed into cancer over time. Treating polyps has reduced their risk of bowel cancer.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of faecal occult blood testing kits distributed since implementation of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme have been returned by  (a) women and  (b) men.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is in the following table as at 30 March 2007.
	
		
			  Gender  Number of testing kits sent out  Percentage  Number of testing kits returned  Percentage 
			 Female 64,665 50 31,997 51 
			 Male 64,548 50 30,834 49 
			 Total 129,213  62,831 

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the impact on capacity for colonoscopy services of the roll-out of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 321W.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by her Department.

Ivan Lewis: Departmental budget managers are required to observe our code of business conduct. This states hospitality such as business meals or drinks outside of normal working hours can be provided on an appropriate scale but states particular care must be taken to ensure that the provision of alcohol is limited and reasonable.

Health Hazards: Radiation

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost is of the decontamination of 140 Osier Crescent, London, N10.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	This is a matter that the London borough of Haringey is pursuing with representatives of the owning company. Until a full survey is undertaken, it is not possible to give an estimate of the costs of remediation work. In the meantime, the London borough of Haringey has taken action to restrict access to the house and reassured the public that living close to the property in Osier Crescent is not a health hazard.

Health Services: Rural Areas

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the closure programmes for community hospitals in rural areas on the delivery of NHS care to rural communities.

Andy Burnham: There is no centrally co-ordinated closure programme for community hospitals in England. Proposals for changes to the way services are delivered locally are a matter for local commissioners in conjunction with local people. Primary care trusts in England are expected to take into account issues such as the impact on rural areas when making decisions about the configuration of services locally.

Health Services: South West Region

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has approved proposals from the South West Strategic Health Authority to rebalance NHS provision away from acute hospital care to out-of-hospital care in the community; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Any proposals for the reconfiguration of services are a matter for the national health service locally.
	There is a well established and well understood process for managing formal public consultations on proposed changes so that patients, the public and other stakeholders can help to inform the local debate.
	However, our vision for providing more services in settings that are convenient for patients was set out in Our Health, Our Care, Our Say.
	Although one of our goals is to treat people more quickly and conveniently closer to home, this should only happen where it is consistent with safety and good quality care.

Hospital Wards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1593W, on mixed-sex wards, whether she has determined a timescale for publication of the reports she received on mixed-sex wards from strategic health authorities on 11 December 2006.

Rosie Winterton: No timescale has yet been decided. The information will be used as part of a comprehensive assessment of the situation, including identification of best practice examples. This will be released in due course.

Hospitals: Greater London

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies were frozen in each quarter of the last five years in each hospital in London, broken down by staff department.

Andy Burnham: This information is not held centrally.

Hospitals: Greater London

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was paid by NHS trusts in asset charges for unoccupied or unused space in each hospital in London in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much  (a) ward,  (b) public,  (c) office and  (d) other space is unoccupied or unused in each hospital in London.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally.

Maternity Services: Ashurst

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) financial and  (b) managerial responsibilities are of (i) Hampshire Primary Care Trust and (ii) Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust with respect to implementing a new maternity unit at Ashurst; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Any proposals for improvements to services are a matter for the national health service locally.
	Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust led the formal public consultation on these proposals which are now being implemented by the trust to provide the best possible support for local women.

Medicine: Students

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage change in the bursaries that  (a) nursing,  (b) midwifery,  (c) medical,  (d) dental and  (e) allied health professional students received there was in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Table one shows the national health service bursary rates for the basic awards, not including additional allowances, for the period 1997 to 2008 and the annual percentage increases. The majority of nurses and midwives receive the non-means tested bursary. Medical and dental students and the majority of allied health professional students receive the means-tested NHS bursary. The NHS bursary scheme has supported allied health professional students since 1998 and medical and dental undergraduate students since September 2002 from their fifth and subsequent years of study. During the first four years of study, medical and dental students receive support under the Department for Education and Skills regulations.
	In addition to the basic NHS bursary awards there are a number of other allowances.
	
		
			  Basic NHS bursary rates for academic years 1997-98 to 2007-08 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03 
			  Degree   
			 London n/a 2,225 2,280 2,335 2,578 2,640 
			 Elsewhere n/a 1,810 1,855 1,900 2,098 2,148 
			 Parental Home n/a 1,480 1,515 1,555 l,717 1,758 
			  Diploma   
			 London 5,230 5,374 5,508 5,645 6,232 6,382 
			 Elsewhere 4,450 4,572 4,686 4,805 5,305 5,432 
			 % Increase on previous year  2.75 2.5 2.4 10.4 2.4 
		
	
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Degree  
			 London 2,703 2,768 2,837 2,908 2,976 
			 Elsewhere 2,200 2,253 2,309 2,367 2,422 
			 Parental Home 1,800 l,843 1,889 1,963 2,009 
			  Diploma  
			 London 6,535 6,692 6,859 7,030 7,194 
			 Elsewhere 5,562 5,695 5,837 5,983 6,122 
			 % Increase on previous year 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.33 
		
	
	
		
			  Basic NHS bursary rates for academic 2007-08 for new students 
			   2007-08 
			  Degree  
			 London 3,215 
			 Elsewhere 2,672 
			 Parental Home 2,231 
			  Diploma  
			 London 7,443 
			 Elsewhere 6,372 
		
	
	Table two shows national health service bursary rates for the basic awards, not including additional allowances, for new students who commence their course on or after 1 September 2007.
	Changes from September 2007 have been made to modernise the current scheme. This has allowed for the redistribution of funds to provide; an increase in the basic allowance and a new parents learning allowance.

Medway Maritime Hospital: Nurses

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses have been made redundant at Medway Maritime Hospital since April 2005.

Caroline Flint: Redundancy data were collected centrally for the first time in 2006. There were no nurses made compulsory redundant at the Medway NHS Trust in the nine months up to 31 December 2006.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the Minister of State to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, on Co-proximal.

Caroline Flint: The letter was answered on 30 April 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to reply to the letter of 13 March from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, on Osbourne Court Community Unit.

Ivan Lewis: I have replied to the letter of 13 March from the hon. Member on 27 April 2007.

Mental Health Services: Cheltenham

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the Independent Reconfiguration Panel to report its advice to her on the referral from Gloucestershire Overview and Scrutiny Committee relating to the decision by Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust to centralise older people's mental health inpatient facilities at Charlton Lane, Cheltenham; and when she expects to agree and publish its terms of reference.

Ivan Lewis: The Terms of Reference will be published shortly.

Mentally Ill: Life Expectancy

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of severe mental health conditions on the life expectancy of patients.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not made a direct assessment of the impact of severe mental health problems on the life expectancy of patients. However, as made clear in the Choosing Health White Paper, the Government recognise that people with mental health problems tend to experience worse physical health than the rest of the population. This is why it is supporting well-being support programmes in spearhead primary care trusts and published a commissioning framework in 2006 on supporting the physical health needs of people with severe mental illness, which has been placed in the Library and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4138212

NHS: Consultants

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on management consultancy services by the NHS in the latest year for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: Information on the costs of employing external management consultants is not collected centrally.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS organisations have been in receipt of turnaround support in each month since January 2006; and which NHS organisations have received turnaround support in the period since January 2006 but are no longer part of the turnaround programme.

Andy Burnham: The tables detail the organisations that have been part of the National Turnaround Programme between February and August 2006, between August and October 2006 and since October 2006. This information has been placed in the Library.
	The following organisations have left the National Turnaround Programme since January 2006:
	North Tees and Hartlepool National Health Service Trust and the Mid-Cheshire Hospital NHS Trust: by January 2007, these trusts were delivering sustained recurrent monthly run rate balance;
	High Peak and Dales Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Sedgefield PCT: in the commissioning a patient-led NHS reconfiguration, from October 2006 these PCTs were consolidated into significantly larger new PCTs that did not require turnaround support; and
	North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust: became Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust in December 2006.

NHS: Manpower

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many posts there were for  (a) consultants,  (b) registrars,  (c) senior house officers and  (d) house officers in London in each quarter of the last 10 years, broken down by hospital trust; and how many posts were vacant in each case.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not held centrally.

NHS: Pay

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the NHS staff earnings survey.

Rosie Winterton: Updated national health service staff earnings information is expected to be available at the end of June 2007. It will be published by the Information Centre. The exact publication date will be set during mid May, and will be available from:
	www.ic.nhs.uk.

NHS: Secondment

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many secondees there were from the NHS to each central Government Department in each of the last five years; and from which NHS trusts they were seconded.

Ivan Lewis: The Department only began to record all secondees into the organisation on its main Human Resources Information System during 2006-07, so historic information on numbers is not available.
	As at the end of March 2007, there were 58 full-time equivalent staff seconded into the Department. We do not maintain a record of the seconding organisation.

NHS: Working Hours

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her statement of 10 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 314-15, which problems in the NHS arise from the previous Government's negotiation of the European working time directive; and how they differ from the additional problems driven by the impact of the SiMAP and Jaeger judgments.

Rosie Winterton: More engagement in the working time directive negotiations from the outset would have most likely resulted in a better directive and safeguards against legal challenges such as SiMAP and Jaeger.
	The retention of the opt-out and a solution to the problems caused by the SiMAP and Jaeger judgments still remain priorities for the United Kingdom, and together with many member states we continue to seek changes to the European working time directive to address the difficulties from these judgments.

NHS: Working Hours

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1141W, on NHS: working hours, what indicators of NHS readiness for fully implementing the 48-hour week for doctors in training her Department monitors; and if she will publish the results of such monitoring for the latest period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The New Deal contract monitoring returns give an indication of national health service readiness for fully implementing the 48-hour week for doctors in training. Monitoring information is published on the NHS Employers website at: www.nhsemployers.org
	The progress of the NHS working time directive pilots programme and research by the medical Royal Colleges also provides useful workforce information to support working time directive implementation.

Palliative Care: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2007,  Official Report, column 448W, on palliative care: finance, what the baseline year is for measuring the commitment to double spending on palliative care services; what the level of expenditure on palliative care services was in the baseline year; and by what date she intends to meet the commitment to double spending on palliative care services.

Rosie Winterton: The NHS Operating Framework for 2007-08 highlighted the importance of primary care trusts (PCTs) undertaking baseline reviews of their end of life care services. We will be issuing guidance on what the reviews should cover shortly. These reviews will provide information on the current position of end of life care services in PCTs and will help support the implementation of the end of life care strategy when it is published.
	As part of the end of life care strategy, the analytical and modelling working group will be examining the true cost of providing end of life care. They will aim to estimate the cost of the services provided across the board by both the national health service and the voluntary sector, both general and specialist, in the last three to six months of a patients life and the current expenditure on end of life care services.
	This information will inform the delivery of the Governments manifesto commitment.

Patients: Transport

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patient journeys are estimated to have taken place between Cheltenham and Gloucester in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and  (d) 2006; and what the predicted numbers are for (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 27 April 2007
	 The information requested is not collected centrally.

Psychologists

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified clinical psychology staff worked in the NHS in  (a) England and  (b) each strategic health authority in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of qualified clinical psychology staff working in the national health service in England and in each strategic health authority (SHA) since 1997 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 England 4,038 4,408 4,572 5,032 5,514 6,092 6,757 7,051 7,122 
			 North East SHA 202 223 231 275 291 323 348 349 351 
			 North West SHA 486 551 578 614 716 835 913 1,014 982 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 407 423 384 471 463 548 565 593 593 
			 East Midlands SHA 277 264 270 274 351 364 388 408 422 
			 West Midlands SHA 434 535 541 587 645 729 821 810 762 
			 East of England SHA 217 314 323 338 352 427 499 477 530 
			 London SHA 954 1,037 1,104 1,217 1,329 1,509 1,698 1,857 1,841 
			 South East Coast SHA 279 309 367 414 465 451 471 455 506 
			 South Central SHA 277 281 284 295 328 312 418 424 443 
			 Special Health Authorities and Other Statutory Bodies 48 51 57 66 23     
			  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Compulsory Purchase: Liverpool

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of her Ministers have visited the Liverpool streets designated by her for clearance by compulsory purchase order for the Pathfinder development; and on what dates those visits took place.

Yvette Cooper: On 4 October 2006 Baroness Andrews visited some of the intervention areas of the Merseyside housing market renewal pathfinder area, although not the areas included in the compulsory purchase orders approved in March 2007. Previously, in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, a number of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister Ministers visited the Pathfinder area.

Council Housing: Property Transfer

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which councils tenants voted against large scale voluntary transfer in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: A table listing all transfer ballots by year since 1997 has been placed in the Library of the House.

Departments: European Council

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many EU Council meetings she has attended since taking up her post; and who represents her if she is unable to attend.

Angela Smith: The Secretary of State has not attended an EU Council meeting since taking up her post. If the Secretary of State is unable to attend, then the meeting would be delegated to her ministerial team. A member of the ministerial team would then attend, diary permitting.

Departments: Planning

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps are taken by her Department to include  (a) older people and  (b) people with disabilities in strategic planning, policy making and the delivery of the services they use.

Yvette Cooper: Involvement of older and disabled people is integral to the formation of Communities and Local Government policies that affect them. Examples of recent and forthcoming consultations on my Department's policies include those on the Supporting People programme, the review of Disabled Facilities Grants, and the National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society. Disabled people were also consulted in the formation of my Department's disability equality scheme, which sets out what we will be doing over the next three years to improve equality of opportunity for disabled people, and has been commended by the Disability Rights Commission.
	In addition, the recently published Local Government White Paper encourages local authorities to target groups and communities who may in the past have been marginalised, including older and disabled people's groups, when discharging their new duty to inform, consult, involve and devolve.

Departments: Renewable Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much energy in kilowatt hours was purchased by her Department from renewable sources in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: In the year 2005-06(1), the amount of energy purchased from renewable sources by Communities and Local Government was as follows:
	
		
			  Renewable energy purchased 
			   Kilowatt hours 
			 Headquarter buildings 12,538,297 
			 Agencies 6,624,649 
		
	
	This answer does not include the buildings occupied by Government offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.
	Departments are mandated to source at least 10 per cent. of electricity from renewable sources by March 2008.
	Data relating to the Departments energy consumption and its performance against all the Government estate sustainable operations targets is available in the Sustainable Development Commissions Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) Report 2006 found at:
	http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/.
	(1) Figures are yet to be fully collated for 2006-07 due to electricity billing arrangements.

Equality Act 2006

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which religious organisations she has met to discuss the Equality Act 2006; and how many such meetings she has had.

Phil Woolas: A range of meetings have been held between religious organisations and Ministers and officials about issues related to the Equality Act 2006. These have included meetings with representatives of interfaith groups, the Church of England, the Catholic Church, the Christian Institute, the Lawyers Christian Fellowship, the Evangelical Alliance, faith-based schools and adoption agencies, and Scottish religious groups.

Homebuy Scheme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether tenants purchasing an equity stake in a property under the Social HomeBuy scheme are responsible for the entire maintenance costs of the property.

Yvette Cooper: Housing association and local authority tenants purchasing a share in their rented home at a discount under the Social HomeBuy pilot scheme assume financial responsibility for all maintenance costs. The Government are currently exploring different options for tenants purchasing small shares.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much on average local authorities in England paid back to the Exchequer from their housing revenue account in each year since 1990.

Yvette Cooper: Figures for the period 1990-91 to 1993-94 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Details of net negative/positive housing revenue account subsidy amounts for England for the period 1994-95 to 2005-06 (the last year for which audited figures are available) have been given in the following table. In 2001, the Major Repairs Allowance was introduced to increase the resources available to local authorities to improve their housing. The figures given in the table show the housing element of HRA subsidy for 1994-95 to 2003-04 inclusive and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) subsidy for 2004-05 and 2005-06. The Local Government Act 2003 changed the way HRA Subsidy is accounted for and the figures are presented in line with current accounting practice. HRA Subsidy for 2004-05 (to date) is the precise equivalent of the housing element in prior years.
	
		
			  Financial year  Amounts distributed to authorities in deficit  Amounts contributed by authorities in surplus( 1)  Net expenditure by Exchequer( 2) 
			 1994-95 803,583,639 -892,150,955 -88,567,316 
			 1995-96 690,585,862 -1,077,515,215 -390,050,431 
			 1996-97 660,265,906 -1,223,294,361 -563,028,455 
			 1997-98 606,715,419 -1,260,563,048 -668,307,497 
			 1998-99 538,962,811 -1,408,955,122 -869,992,311 
			 1999-2000 484,765,377 -1,525,634,407 -1,040,869,030 
			 2000-01 441,660,519 -1,557,991,956 -1,116,331,437 
			 2001-02 967,053,381 -615,948,372 (3)351,105,009 
			 2002-03 906,718,472 -654,659,330 252,059,142 
			 2003-04 902,327,958 -711,409,278 191,153,240 
			 2004-05 694,206,087 -615,328,703 78,877,384 
			 2005-06 777,572,397 -548,013,415 229,558,982 
			 (1 )Prior to 31 March 2004 no surpluses (shown as negative figures) were returned to the Exchequer. HRA Subsidy was paid as a net amount after an offset was made between the housing and rent rebate elements. These amounts were not available to authorities for expenditure on their housing stock as they represent a saving to the Exchequer. (2 )Remaining surpluses after the offset (shown as negative figures) remained with the individual local authority and were transferred to their General Fund and lost to housing. This practice ended on 1 April 2004 and the resources are retained within the subsidy regime. (3 )The introduction of the Major Repairs Allowance on 1 April 2001 reduced surpluses by £1.5 billion and put the national system into overall deficit with the Exchequer making up the difference.

Housing: Water Supply

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what role water companies have in the planning of housebuilding programmes; and whether consideration is being given to making them statutory consultees in the planning process.

Angela Smith: holding answer 27 April 2007
	 Water companies are already statutory consultees on regional spatial strategies (RSSs) and local development plan documents (DPDs) since water resource issues are an important consideration in determining the pattern of development.
	Under the plan-led system, planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan (the RSS and DPDs) unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Local Government Finance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding from Housing Revenue Account rental income each local authority in England used to pay service debt charges in 2006-07.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 23 April 2007
	 This information is not yet available; data from local authorities for 2006-07 is not due to be submitted to my Department until 31 December this year.

Mortgages: Public Sector

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect of red-lining on the mortgageability of public sector property; what steps she is taking to seek an end to the practice; what assessment she has made of the effect that an extended capping regime would have on the mortgageability of properties; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: No such assessments have been made. It is for individual lenders to decide, in the light of local circumstances, whether to lend on individual properties. However, the Government will not approve a lender for Right to Buy purposes under section 156 of the Housing Act 1985 if inquiries suggest that it operates a policy of not lending on certain types of property.

Overcrowding: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the £19 million to fund innovative schemes to tackle overcrowding in London announced on 20 November 2006 has been allocated, broken down by local authority.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the total amount for each borough in receipt of an allocation of regional housing pot funding in 2006-07 for pilot schemes to tackle overcrowding in London:
	
		
			  Local authority  Allocation (£) 
			 Brent 2,150,000 
			 Croydon 3,492,735 
			 Greenwich 606,000 
			 Hackney 860,000 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,000,000 
			 Haringey 120,000 
			 Havering 315,000 
			 Hillingdon 825,000 
			 Islington 760,000 
			 Lambeth 4,280,250 
			 Redbridge 250,000 
			 Southwark 2,772,683 
			 Sutton 120,000 
			 Tower Hamlets 202,000 
			 Westminster 1,395,000 
			 Total 19,148,668

Right to Buy Scheme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to amend the Housing (Right to Buy) (Information to Secure Tenants) Order 2005 (S.I., 2005, No.1735) to include a requirement that the type of construction and any known defects associated with the type of construction should be included in the sellers information.

Yvette Cooper: There are no plans to do this. Section 125 of the Housing Act 1985 already requires social landlords to inform tenants who apply to purchase their homes under the Right to Buy scheme of any structural defect known to the landlord.

Right to Buy Scheme: Social Security Benefits

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of council tenants who exercised the right to buy were receiving  (a) council tax benefit and  (b) housing benefit in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: This information is not collected. The ability of tenants who are in receipt of benefits to exercise their right to buy would depend on the willingness of lenders to offer them mortgage finance, or the availability of financial assistance from family or friends.

Social Rented Housing

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people, living in social housing and holding life-time tenancy in England are aged  (a) 18 to 25,  (b ) 26 to 40,  (c) 40 to 55 and  (d) over 55 years.

Yvette Cooper: Separate figures for those with lifetime tenancies are not available. Figures for the whole of the social rented sector are as follows:
	
		
			  Age of tenant  Number of households  Percentage 
			 26 252,000 6.8 
			 26 to 40 898,000 24.3 
			 41 to 55 887,000 24.1 
			 56+ 1,650,000 44.7 
			 All 3,687,000 100.0 
			  Source: ONS, Labour Force Survey

Social Rented Housing

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people living in social housing hold life-time tenancy in England.

Yvette Cooper: The Housing Corporation estimates that at end-March 2006 about 97 per cent. of housing association tenancies were lifetime tenancies. Equivalent figures for local authorities are not available, so an estimate of the total number of lifetime tenancies in social housing cannot be provided.

Social Rented Housing: Insurance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to require registered social landlords to advise their tenants to take out home contents insurance.

Yvette Cooper: Registered social landlords are required to provide high standards of customer care. Landlords should consider all aspects of this, including insurance. The Housing Corporation has issued good practice guidance on facilitating access to insurance called Insurance for All which is available on the corporations website.

Social Rented Housing: Unemployment

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people living in social housing in England are  (a) employed and  (b) unemployed.

Yvette Cooper: In England, in 2006, an estimated 1,162,000 householders in social housing were employed and 213,000 were unemployed.
	The remaining householders in social housing comprised an estimated 1,195,000 retired householders and 1,084,000 householders who were inactive for some other reason.
	These figures are derived from the Labour Force Survey, a continuous survey ran by the Office for National Statistics.

Temporary Accommodation

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the appropriateness of placing homeless households in long-term placements in temporary accommodation outside their local authority area.

Yvette Cooper: Under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996), local housing authorities must ensure that suitable accommodation is available for housing applicants accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need. In some cases it may be appropriate for a homeless household to be placed in accommodation outside the local authority area but authorities are required to ensure that, so far as reasonably practicable, accommodation is secured in their district. Moreover, we have issued statutory guidancethe Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authoritieswhich states that wherever possible the accommodation secured should be as close as possible to where applicants were previously living, so they can retain established links with schools, doctors, social workers and other key services and support essential to the well-being of the household.